Army Secretary eyes exit around end of year amid Hegseth tensions
Army Secretary eyes exit around end of year amid Hegseth tensions
Filip Timotija Sat, August 22, 2026 at 8:09 PM UTC
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Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is looking to leave his role at the Pentagon around the end of 2026 following a months-long turf war with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former White House official and another source familiar with the discussions told The Hill on Friday.
A third source familiar said Driscoll has long communicated that between 23 and 24 months is the lifetime of an Army secretary in the Trump administration. Driscoll, an ally of Vice President Vance, was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 25 last year in a 66-28 vote.
Driscoll’s spokesperson declined to comment.
A U.S. official, granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, told The Hill on Saturday they have heard a similar timeline for Driscoll’s departure.
The Army Secretary has pushed the service branch to improve living conditions for service members, modernize equipment and learn from Ukrainian forces how to utilize commercial technology in modern warfare.
One of the sources familiar said Driscoll has been “aggressive” in getting buy-in from general officers to spearhead and deliver on these efforts, given his limited tenure.
During his tenure, Driscoll, a former venture capitalist, formed a close working relationship with the former Army’s chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, who was ousted from his role in early April by Hegseth.
President Trump and Hegseth then picked Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army vice chief of staff, to serve as the Army’s acting chief of staff. LaNeve, who is a former military aide to Hegseth, has met with senators in recent months, but his confirmation is in question over objections from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
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The Army Secretary has also been involved in a simmering battle for influence with Hegseth, with tension flaring late last year when Trump picked Driscoll to negotiate with Ukrainian officials in hopes of ending the Russia-Ukraine war, The Hill previously reported.
Last year, Driscoll and George, whose firing has drawn criticism from GOP lawmakers, rolled out the so-called Army Transformation Initiative last year, which was intended to focus on three areas: “deliver critical warfighting capabilities, optimize our force structure and eliminate waste and obsolete programs.”
Among the fields of focus were integrating drones and artificial intelligence into Army formations,
Driscoll’s expected departure was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
The Army is planning to phase out a unit that was studying and incorporating lessons from overseas wars, including the use of unmanned systems in the Russia-Ukraine war, The Hill reported on Thursday.
The battalion, part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, was backed by senior Army leadership, including George and Gen. Chris Donahue, the former commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
This story was at 4:09 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2026.
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