Trump’s Army Secretary Makes Surprise Move After Reported Hegseth Clash

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump on Monday after reportedly butting heads with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for months.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Driscoll is expected to leave the Pentagon in the coming days, potentially ending the tenure of a key player in Trump’s military overhaul at a time when the United States is already juggling a war with Iran.

Driscoll wasn’t exactly a background player in Trump’s Pentagon.

The Army veteran has helped carry out the administration’s push to put readiness and lethality back at the center of the military. He was also trusted with an assignment that had little to do with his official Army job when Trump sent him into the Russia-Ukraine diplomatic fight last year.

Then there’s Vice President JD Vance.

Driscoll and the vice president go way back. They were classmates at Yale Law School and remain close friends, a relationship that reportedly became another source of tension between Driscoll and Hegseth.

His resignation lands at a particularly busy moment for Hegseth’s Pentagon. The United States is six months into the Iran war, and American forces came under Iranian missile fire over the weekend after the U.S. struck Iranian launchers near the Strait of Hormuz.

Driscoll’s potential departure would also be the latest change at the top of the Army. Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George earlier this year. George had worked closely with Driscoll.

The White House, meanwhile, made clear there’s no bad blood on its end.

“Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.

Kelly credited Driscoll with providing leadership during major military operations, restoring the Army’s focus on “readiness and lethality,” and helping with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.