Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year, and could leave earlier, according to a report published Friday. He has been preparing to leave the Trump administration after months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
That report lands while the Army chief of staff post still lacks a permanent nominee. Gen. Christopher LaNeve is carrying out those duties in an acting capacity after Hegseth abruptly ousted Gen. Randy George in April.
Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
Driscoll and his family vacated the official Army secretary residence at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a concrete sign that his tenure was already shifting before the latest report surfaced. The departure from that residence does not give a date for when he will leave office, but it fits the broader movement around the Army’s senior ranks.
Pentagon and White House
Representatives for Driscoll and the Pentagon declined to comment to The. The same reporting also noted that Donald Trump gave Driscoll a public vote of confidence last month at a defense conference in Pennsylvania, saying he had a “beautiful smile but he's actually a killer.”
That praise sits alongside the separate account from an April New York Post report, which said Hegseth was increasingly consumed by paranoia over being replaced by Driscoll and had been told by the White House he could not fire him at least for the moment. The report said that anxiety also fed the ousters of Randy George, David Hodne and William Green, while Hegseth was going after anyone he perceived to be close with Driscoll.
For the Army, the immediate issue is succession. Driscoll’s expected exit would add another change at the top just as LaNeve is filling the chief of staff role on an acting basis and Trump has not put forward a permanent replacement for George.
