Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submits resignation after clashing with Hegseth for ‘months’
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin broke down the latest turmoil inside the Pentagon on “America Reports,” addressing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s resignation to President Donald Trump, reported friction among defense leaders, and new developments in the widening U.S.-Iran conflict. Griffin also examined how the leadership shake-up could affect U.S. military planning, national security priorities and America’s broader defense strategy.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Adam Telle, who has been serving as assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, will step in 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 wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump praised Telle in the same announcement, calling him “a Great Patriot” and saying he is “respected by all.”
The move came shortly after Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation as Army secretary to the president earlier in the week.
President Donald Trump appointed Adam Telle as acting secretary of the Army after 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 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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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 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 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, News Media previously reported.
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.”