US Army Secretary Driscoll resigns after rifts in Pentagon leadership

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months on the job, the White House said Monday, in the latest departure of a top military leader during the Trump administration.

No reason was given for the departure of Driscoll, who is a friend of US Vice-President J.D. Vance, but tensions with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have been widely reported. It marks the latest in a series of shake-ups of the military leadership, with the US Army especially seeing major upheaval.

“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.

“The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War,” she added.

The Pentagon abruptly announced in April that US Navy Secretary John Phelan was leaving the job, becoming the first head of a military service to depart during Trump’s second term.

A US Army official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Driscoll spoke with President Donald Trump on the current state of the US Army and submitted his resignation. The official did not provide additional details.

Driscoll’s departure follows the ouster of one of his allies from the US Army as well as the rollback of a drone programme he had championed. Hegseth had suddenly ousted the service’s top uniformed leader, General Randy George, in April, while the US Army’s commander in Europe and Africa, General Christopher Donahue, unexpectedly stepped down in June.