Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down from his role after 18 months, the White House shared.
“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 during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to the Associated Press, adding, “The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War.”
According to the AP report, Driscoll’s departure comes as the Pentagon has also pulled back on a drone program pushed by the Army secretary. He said last year that soldiers must be able to both deploy drones and defend against enemy unmanned systems. “You can’t really defend against one without being an expert in the other,” he said.
In April, War Secretary Pete Hegseth fired former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. The move came amid reports of tensions between Hegseth and Driscoll. Following George’s removal, Driscoll said his family “drove straight to Gen. George’s house, we walked right in, and we all gave him a hug.”
“There is no person that has more respect for Gen. George,” Driscoll said before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, describing George as “an amazing, transformational leader.
“That being said, the civilian leadership, the design of our system, is that they get to pick the leaders that they want, and we execute on those orders.”
