Driscoll’s resignation surprised staff, was motivated by toxic Pentagon environment, officials say

By John T. Seward - The Washington Times - Tuesday, September 1, 2026

The U.S. military’s largest branch is left without a top civilian leader or a congressionally confirmed senior officer after the sudden departure of Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, a move that some of the leader’s closest staff said was unexpectedly fast.

Leaving the Trump administration, Mr. Driscoll told the White House he’s worried for the future of the Army as his efforts to modernize the force were met with resistance at the Pentagon, according to one former official close to the discussions.

Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, praised Mr. Driscoll in a statement, but did not directly address his departure or discussions with the president.

“Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership,” she said in a statement.

Mr. Driscoll’s sudden exit comes as a shock to many around him, even some of his immediate staff, a person familiar with his team said, who, like others, asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive internal matters.

Key military officials and defense industry leaders are set to attend a major Army conference in October, one that last year served as a 21st-century modernization effort spotlight and was part of a push across the Pentagon. The Association of the United States Army hosts an annual conference billed as the “Army’s most powerful event.”

Mr. Driscoll was still planning to attend the conference. Army headquarters staff at the Pentagon were receiving guidance and input about his attendance and participation recently, the person said.

“It surprised me. It surprised everyone I know,” another current official said. “I don’t know anyone who saw it coming, and it happened while leadership is thin.”

Dave Fitzgerald, the deputy under secretary of the Army, is expected to resign from his role this week as well, according to one source close to the matter.

Mr. Driscoll’s resignation had in recent months become “the worst-kept secret in Washington,” as one former official put it. The resignation of Gen. Randy George, the former chief of staff of the Army, began a glacial slide toward the replacement of Mr. Driscoll as well.

A former Army officer himself who fought in Iraq and a Yale Law School classmate of Vice President J.D. Vance, Mr. Driscoll had garnered wide-ranging and bipartisan influence on Capitol Hill since taking on the role of secretary of the Army.

Gen. George and Mr. Driscoll as a pair were able to impact major legislation over the last 18 months and continually see their initiatives scrape through a politically charged environment in Congress.

Mr. Driscoll had worked closely with Gen. George to push forward research, development and funding for some of the Army’s core technologies. That partnership, the former official said, was critical to a successful Army leadership team in a Pentagon plagued by intrigue and personality clashes.

“It just got to a point where all his efforts on innovation and transformation were being stymied,” they said. They said it was a matter of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a longtime narrative that has circulated in the Pentagon.

Mr. Hegseth’s decisions on high-level leadership firings or forced retirements in the Army, including the ouster of Gen. George, were also to blame.

The new chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Christopher C. LaNeve, has a reputation more focused on “warrior ethos,” multiple sources said, pointing to military training, physical fitness and standards for Army soldiers as examples. Gen. LaNeve has yet to be confirmed by Congress.

Gen. George’s fervor for his “Army Transformation Initiative” pushed the program to become one of the most discussed modernization programs at the Pentagon. That ardent direction was coupled with a sterling reputation in Congress across the political spectrum.

But the politics of the “iron triangle” — the connections among the White House, Congress and the Pentagon, as an insider described — are a dynamic that Mr. Hegseth has shown disdain for publicly. That pervading culture at the Pentagon was, at least in part, another reason Mr. Driscoll resigned.

“Not in terms of like, [Mr. Hegseth] yelling at him or something,” the former official said. “Just in making it impossible to do what he wanted.”

Many who had served alongside Mr. Driscoll during his early years bolstered his reputation among soldiers in the Army. Mr. Driscoll was well liked as a service secretary.

“He was very easy to respect, even for folks who didn’t agree with everything he was doing,” one officer outside of D.C. said. “For a political appointee, he blended the political nature of his job really well with actual leadership.”

But many were quick to point out that while soldiers today are more aware of the news in Washington, the impact of his resignation will be felt mostly inside the Beltway.

“Most normal Army soldiers barely know who their division commander is,” they said.