Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has methodically targeted the Army leadership around Secretary Dan Driscoll, driven by fears that Driscoll is positioning to take his job, current and former administration officials told the New York Post — a power struggle now unfolding in the middle of an active war with Iran.
“This is all driven by the insecurity and paranoia that Pete has developed since Signalgate,” one official told the Post, referring to Hegseth’s March 2025 group chat scandal in which a reporter was accidentally included in a thread containing sensitive military planning. “Unfortunately, it is stoked by some of his closest aides who should be trying to calm the waters.”
Hegseth “is very concerned about being fired, and he knows that Driscoll is one of the top contenders, or a natural contender, to succeed him,” a second source said. “So what Pete has been doing is taking anyone he perceives to be close with Driscoll and going after them.”
On April 2, Hegseth pushed out three senior Army leaders: Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, whom Driscoll had worked alongside most closely; Maj. Gen. William Green, the Army’s chief of chaplains, and Gen. David Hodne, who led Army Transformation and Training Command — all figures tied to a modernization initiative Driscoll co-announced with George in May 2025. George learned of his removal during a phone call, a move that officials said sparked “anger and frustration” among senior Army officers.
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Read: Defense Secretary Hegseth Fires Army Chief Randy George in Leadership Shake-Up
One can trace this all back to last year, when Driscoll’s name began circulating as a candidate to replace a struggling Hegseth. Officials say tensions deepened in the fall after Driscoll joined Ukraine peace negotiations — a high-profile assignment that deepened Hegseth’s suspicions.
The two have since clashed over Army promotions and personnel, and in February Hegseth ordered Driscoll to remove his top adviser, Col. David Butler. Unable to push Driscoll out directly, as the White House has blocked it, Hegseth has instead moved to strip away everyone around him. He has dismissed more than a dozen senior military officers since taking office.
Hegseth’s top spokesman, Sean Parnell, denied any rift. “Secretary Hegseth maintains excellent working relationships with the secretaries of every military service branch, including Army Secretary Dan Driscoll,” Parnell said. Parnell has, nonetheless, privately told colleagues he wants Driscoll’s job should it become vacant, officials said.
He may have to wait a bit longer as Driscoll isn’t going anywhere.
“Serving under President Trump has been the honor of a lifetime and I remain laser focused on providing America with the strongest land fighting force the world has ever seen,” he told The Washington Post on Tuesday. “I have no plans to depart or resign as the Secretary of the Army.”
It may also be important to note that he is a Yale Law School classmate and fellow Iraq War veteran of Vice President JD Vance, and the White House backed him publicly on Tuesday, saying Trump had “effectively restored a focus on readiness and lethality across our military with the help of leaders like Secretary Driscoll.”
Defense officials have warned that the purge carries real operational risk. The 82nd Airborne is currently deployed in Iran, and George’s removal — more than a year before his tenure was set to end — left the Army without its top officer at a critical moment. How the Pentagon’s internal dysfunction could affect the two-week ceasefire remains unclear. Peace talks are set to open in Islamabad on April 10.
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