Driscoll’s resignation comes after months of tension with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to US media reports.
Published August 31, 2026
US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll has submitted his resignation following months of tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to media reports.
Asked about the Wall Street Journal’s report on Driscoll’s resignation on Monday, the White House did not deny it.
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“Secretary Driscoll has been extremely effective in advancing President Trump’s policy to make America strong again at the Department of the Army, providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, and supporting negotiations between Russia and Ukraine,” Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement.
“Thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of the Army, the United States Army is stronger than ever,” she added.
Reuters, citing sources, said it was unclear whether the White House had accepted Driscoll’s resignation.
The military declined to comment.
Driscoll, a law school classmate of Vice President J.D. Vance, is the latest senior official to leave the Pentagon under Hegseth.
The Secretary of Defense fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, and Gen. Christopher Donahue, the Army’s commander for Europe and Africa, abruptly resigned in June.
Hegseth dismissed several other generals and admirals, including the Secretary of the Navy.
The Pentagon suddenly announced in April that Navy Secretary John Phelan would resign, becoming the first military chief to leave office during President Donald Trump’s second term.
Reuters sources said Driscoll has raised concerns with the Trump administration “around the transformation and readiness of the Army,” and that “Mr. Hegseth is blocking those efforts, especially by firing the most responsible generals.”
Mr. Driscoll, who was confirmed to the Army’s top position in February 2025, pushed for the military to have cheaper weapons and more agile access and criticized major arms manufacturers. The Secretary of the Army is responsible for training and equipping soldiers.
A U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Hegseth saw Driscoll as a threat within the bureaucracy and had long wanted to remove him. But his relationship with Vance makes it difficult for Hegseth to do so, officials said.
The person said Mr. George’s firing caught Mr. Driscoll by surprise and led to growing dissatisfaction with Mr. Hegseth.
Driscoll rose to prominence outside the Pentagon when he was nominated by President Trump to participate in talks with Moscow and Kiev to end the war in Ukraine. This is an unusual diplomatic mission for a military chief.
Driscoll was deployed during the Iraq War and then advised President Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign after running unsuccessfully for Congress in 2020.
