His mandate lasted eighteen months. US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has resigned. The information was first revealed by the Wall Street Journalthen taken up by several American media. Questioned on Monday August 31 by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on the subject, the White House did not deny it.
“Secretary Driscoll has been extremely effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda (…) providing remarkable leadership during historic military operations”she said in a press release. “The U.S. military is stronger than ever because of its work alongside the Commander in Chief and Secretary of Defense”she continues.
No reason was given for his departure but tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were widely reported. This departure is part of a series of reshuffles within the American military hierarchy.
In early April, Mr. Hegseth abruptly dismissed the Army’s highest-ranking officer, General Randy George, an ally of Dan Driscoll who had deplored his departure. General Christopher LaNeve, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise under Pete Hegseth’s tenure, succeeded Randy George as acting chief of staff of the Army. Under his command, the US military abandoned a drone modernization program that Dan Driscoll had praised.
Former advisor to JD Vance
In late April, the Pentagon abruptly announced that Navy Secretary John Phelan was leaving his post. And in June, the Army’s Europe and Africa commander, Gen. Christopher Donahue, unexpectedly resigned.
Dan Driscoll is a veteran of the Iraq War, where he was deployed from October 2009 to July 2010, and had a career in finance before joining the Trump administration. A former advisor to JD Vance, whom he met at Yale Law School, he was chosen, as Secretary of the Army, for the role of key negotiator in trying to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
He also played a major role in simplifying administrative procedures for arms companies, allowing them to quickly develop more drones and anti-drone systems in the face of rapidly evolving conflicts around the world.
Appointed by Donald Tump in December 2024, Dan Driscoll was confirmed by the Senate in February 2025, by a vote of 66 to 28.
In 2020, he ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for a congressional seat in North Carolina.
