Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submits resignation after clashing with Hegseth for ‘months’
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin discusses Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitting his resignation to President Donald Trump, the reported tensions within Pentagon leadership, and the latest developments in the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict, including what the shake-up could mean for America’s military strategy and national security on ‘America Reports.’
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President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he was appointing Adam Telle, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, as acting secretary of the Army.
“I am pleased to announce that Adam Telle, the current Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, will become Acting Secretary of the Army, effective immediately,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“He is a Great Patriot, who is respected by all,” he added.
The announcement comes after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation to the president earlier this week.
ARMY SECRETARY DAN DRISCOLL SUBMITS RESIGNATION TO TRUMP
President Donald Trump appointed Adam Telle as acting secretary of the Army following the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Telle, who was nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2025, oversees the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program, where his responsibilities include flood and storm protection, commercial waterways and Clean Water Act permitting.
Previously, Telle served as chief of staff to Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and was also Trump’s chief liaison to the Senate during the president’s first administration, when he led the White House Office of Legislative Affairs’ Senate team.
Before that, Telle served on the Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee responsible for overseeing the Department of Homeland Security’s budget. He also spent 10 years in the office of former Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., where he served as deputy chief of staff, legislative director and the senator’s top national security staffer.
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Then-U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump attend a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base for military casualties of the war with Iran on July 22, 2026, in Dover, Del. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Telle is viewed as having strong relationships with senators on Capitol Hill, which could prove important as the administration works to confirm Army nominees currently stalled in the Senate.
The appointment fills a key leadership vacancy atop the nation’s largest military branch.
Driscoll’s exit came after he reportedly butted heads with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over the Army’s transformation and readiness, including Driscoll’s belief that Hegseth had hindered those efforts, Fox News Digital previously reported.
US ARMY OFFERING DEFENSE FIRMS ‘CONCIERGE ACCESS’ TO TEST WEAPONS AT MILITARY RANGES
President Donald Trump announced that Adam Telle would become acting secretary of the Army “effective immediately,” calling him a “Great Patriot.” (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The outgoing Army secretary said Wednesday would be his “last full day” in the position, adding that serving under Trump and Hegseth had been “the honor of a lifetime.”
“I had the privilege of working with them to modernize and accelerate how the Army mans, trains, and equips the most lethal fighting force on the face of the earth,” Driscoll said in a statement posted on X.
“We could not have made the progress we did without the support of Secretary Hegseth,” he continued. “I am forever grateful to President Trump for the opportunity to once again serve my country.”
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Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella and Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
