US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll does not plan to resign or leave his post at the Pentagon, he said on Tuesday after a series of internal conflicts with US War Secretary Pete Hegseth that led other US officials to question how long they could coexist, The Washington Post reports, writes UNN.
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Driscoll's statement followed last week's abrupt removal of US Army Chief of Staff General Randy George and two other senior military leaders — and, officials familiar with the situation said, Hegseth's chief press secretary, Sean Parnell, privately told colleagues he was interested in Driscoll's position if it became vacant, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Hegseth and Driscoll disagreed on numerous issues, including Hegseth's actions to block the promotion of several Army officers, these people said.
"Serving under President Trump has been the honor of my life, and I remain focused on providing America with the strongest land combat forces the world has ever seen," Driscoll said in his previously unpublished statement to The Post. "I have no plans to resign as Secretary of the Army."
The White House, in a separate statement, appeared to back Driscoll, a close friend of US Vice President J.D. Vance, while emphasizing the Army's role in the Trump administration's weeks-long war with Iran.
US President Donald Trump "has effectively restored focus on combat readiness and combat effectiveness in our armed forces through leaders like Secretary Driscoll," said Anna Kelly, White House press secretary.
Parnell, Hegseth's press secretary, declined to answer questions about his interest in the Army Secretary position and denied claims of tension between Hegseth and Driscoll. In his statement, he said Hegseth "maintains an excellent working relationship with the secretaries of all branches of the military, including Army Secretary Dan Driscoll."
Other officials who observed the dynamics of their relationship said that such a characterization was inaccurate. They noted that friction between them began at least a year ago, in the spring of last year, when Driscoll's name was mentioned in the Trump administration as a potential replacement for Hegseth. At the time, the US War Secretary was reportedly struggling to establish himself in the position amid a series of controversies and other upheavals that occupied much of his first year in office.
Trump, despite these issues, kept Hegseth in office, recently telling reporters that the former Fox News host and mid-level officer in the National Guard Army was "born for this role."
Officials at the US Department of War loyal to Hegseth refer to Parnell as a promising candidate for Secretary of the Army.
One senior Pentagon official, citing Parnell's combat experience as an infantry platoon commander in Afghanistan about 20 years ago, told The Post that Parnell would succeed as Army Secretary. One official said Driscoll was too focused on his political future instead of focusing on the Army Secretary's role of managing the training and equipping of soldiers.
Three people familiar with the situation and interviewed for this report refuted suggestions that Driscoll, who worked in venture capital and ran an unsuccessful congressional campaign in 2020 before joining the Trump administration, was performing poorly. One of them said Driscoll, who commanded an Army cavalry reconnaissance platoon during the Iraq War, "made a lot of institutional changes and stayed away from things the military shouldn't touch, especially in the context of culture wars."
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Driscoll was so concerned about the deterioration of his relationship with Hegseth that he sought help from Vance, a close friend since law school, in the fall, three people familiar with the matter said.
According to officials, George's dismissal as Army Chief of Staff last week had been in the works for months. Hegseth had expressed interest in removing him last year, but Driscoll found ways to thwart those talks, officials said.
It is unclear whether Vance ever intervened to defend Driscoll.
In his response to The Post's questions, Parnell said Hegseth and Vance, who served in the Marine Corps during the Iraq War, "are fully aligned in executing President Trump's 'America First' agenda" and that they "work seamlessly together and share deep mutual respect."
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