Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump, officials said Monday, paving the way for him to depart the administration in coming days after repeated clashes with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Driscoll has served as Army secretary since February 2025, overseeing efforts to make the service more modern and nimble and taking a leading role in the Trump administration’s efforts to defend against the proliferation of cheap, deadly drones.
His resignation marks the latest leadership shake-up amid the Trump administration’s ongoing war in Iran, and had been seen as increasingly imminent after months of friction with Hegseth and others aligned with the Pentagon chief, said the officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Pentagon affairs. It was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Monday evening.
The departure follows Hegseth’s firing of numerous senior Army officers over the last year without disclosing his reasoning, including Gen. Randy George, the service’s top officer, in April.
Hegseth’s team referred questions to the Army. Army officials acknowledged the resignation and referred questions about it to the White House.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hegseth and Driscoll clashed both professionally and personally over the firing of top generals, over Hegseth’s belief that Driscoll had not been appropriately deferential to the defense secretary and over other matters, said people familiar with their relationship.
Days after George’s firing, Hegseth’s spokesman, Sean Parnell, denied that there was any conflict between the two political appointees, but soon others around Hegseth acknowledged otherwise. Parnell’s name had been suggested by some close to Hegseth as a potential Army secretary should Driscoll depart.
At the time, Driscoll said in a statement to The Washington Post that he had no plans to depart the Trump administration or resign as Army secretary.
Driscoll, a close friend and former Yale Law School classmate of Vice President JD Vance, maintained support at the White House, too. Officials there credited Driscoll in April as being among a group of leaders who “effectively restored a focus on readiness and lethality across our military.”
For a time, Driscoll was seen as a potential replacement for Hegseth, whose early stumbles in the Pentagon’s top job alarmed some in the White House. Trump also sent Driscoll to Ukraine in November 2025 to represent the U.S. government.
Driscoll, an Iraq War veteran who was 38 years old when the Senate confirmed him as the Army’s top civilian leader, worked in venture capital and ran an unsuccessful congressional campaign in 2020 before joining the Trump administration. He sought to stay at the Pentagon for up to two years, but the infighting accelerated his decision to leave, two officials said.
Driscoll’s departure follows that of Navy Secretary John Phelan, who was forced out in April. In that case, Hegseth sought Phelan’s firing, and Trump agreed, officials previously told The Post. The service is now run on an acting basis by Hung Cao, a Navy veteran more closely aligned with Hegseth.
It’s not clear when the Trump administration will nominate someone to run the Army or Navy on a permanent basis.
“It’s not great,” one official said, “when you’re trying to project power in the middle of the Iran war.”
Reaction among conservatives on Monday night was mixed.
Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-North Carolina), a former Special Forces officer, said on social media that Driscoll “brought urgency to an institution that cannot afford complacency.” The congressman credited Driscoll with constantly questioning how the Army buys and sustains equipment and prepares soldiers for the battlefield.
“I’ve been fortunate to work alongside him on many of those fights, and even more fortunate to call him a friend,” Harrigan said. “His leadership made the Army stronger, and the impact of his work will be felt long after his time as Secretary. Dan’s service to this country is far from over.”
David J. Freeman, a social media influencer popular with MAGA Republicans, took a dimmer view.
“Good riddance!” Freeman wrote on his account @GuntherEagleman, which has more than 1.7 million followers on X. “If Dan Driscoll could not get on the same page as Pete Hegseth, he did not need that office.”
In addition to George, Hegseth has forced out some of the Army’s top officers. They include Gen. James Mingus, the former vice chief of staff; Gen. Christopher Donahue, the former top Army general in Europe; Gen. David Hodne, the head of Army Transformation and Training Command. All of them had been seen in the Pentagon as credible selections to lead the service.
Gen. Chris LaNeve, whom Hegseth installed as the Army’s the vice chief of staff, has served as the Army’s acting top officer since George’s dismissal.
Parnell, Hegseth’s spokesman, said last week that the administration intends to nominate LaNeve for the top job when there is an “optimal moment to do so,” but as The Post and others have reported, there are doubts on Capitol Hill that the general has enough support in the Senate to be confirmed.
Tara Copp contributed to this report.
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