Adam Telle Named Acting Army Secretary After Dan Driscoll Resignation
President Trump named Adam Telle as acting Army secretary Thursday following the resignation of Dan Driscoll, who stepped down Wednesday after 18 months as the Army's top civilian official without offering any public explanation.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Telle is "a Great Patriot, who is respected by all." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called him "strong and whip smart."
Driscoll's departure was not a surprise to anyone following Pentagon dynamics. His clashes with Hegseth had been widely reported throughout 2026, and several of Driscoll's allies within the Army were removed from their positions by Hegseth during the year.
According to a report in The Atlantic, Driscoll brought his concerns about the Army's direction directly to Trump at a White House meeting last week. He called his tenure "the honor of a lifetime" in a post on X, the kind of departure statement that says everything and nothing simultaneously.
Both Republicans and Democrats reacted with concern. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Hegseth "is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks."
Telle, who replaces him, spent more than 20 years working for Republican senators including Bill Hagerty and the late Thad Cochran, plus 18 months in Trump's first term White House as a special assistant to the president for legislative affairs.
He has been the Army's assistant secretary for civil works since August 2025. He is a Congressional insider, not a military official, now overseeing the United States Army.
