President Donald Trump was reportedly caught off guard by the scale of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s purge of senior Army leaders—just days before the service’s top civilian official abruptly resigned.
Outgoing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll personally warned Trump about the leadership shake-up during a private White House meeting last week, according to The Atlantic.
The magazine, citing four people familiar with the conversation, reported that Trump was surprised to learn how many generals and other senior officers had been fired, pressured to leave or denied promotions under Hegseth.
Driscoll argued that the upheaval was undermining the Army’s ability to modernize and prepare for future threats.
Trump “expressed concern about the deep cuts to the Army’s senior leadership,” one person familiar with the meeting told the magazine.
During the same closed-door conversation, Driscoll informed Trump that he planned to resign. His departure became official Monday evening, escalating a months-long power struggle inside the Pentagon.
The White House confirmed the resignation but did not publicly address Trump’s reported concerns about Hegseth.
“Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CBS News.
Kelly credited Driscoll with providing “outstanding leadership during historic military operations,” restoring the Army’s focus on “readiness and lethality” and assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
“The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War,” she added.
Trump has not personally commented in public on Driscoll’s exit or indicated whether he intends to rein in Hegseth’s personnel overhaul.
Driscoll, a former Army officer who served in Iraq, became the youngest Army secretary in history when he took office at age 38. The close friend and former Yale Law School classmate of Vice President JD Vance quickly earned a reputation as a reformer determined to drag the Army’s weapons and drone programs into the future.
But personnel decisions became a major flashpoint between Driscoll and Hegseth.
Driscoll strongly supported former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, whom Hegseth forced out in April without publicly explaining the decision. Gen. Chris Donahue, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, later filed for retirement.
Driscoll and George had worked together on the Army Transformation Initiative, an ambitious modernization effort emphasizing drones and other unmanned systems. The Army has since moved to phase out a European drone battalion supported by both men, CBS News reported.
The leadership purge has left a striking vacuum at the top of America’s largest military branch.
The Army now lacks both a permanent civilian secretary and a Senate-confirmed chief of staff. NPR reported that the number of active-duty Army four-star generals has fallen from 10 when Hegseth took office to just five.
Gen. Christopher LaNeve, Hegseth’s choice for the Army’s No. 2 position, has served as acting chief of staff since George’s departure. According to The Atlantic, LaNeve repeatedly bypassed Driscoll and took major decisions directly to Hegseth.
Hegseth is now expected to nominate LaNeve for the permanent chief of staff position, although Senate opposition could complicate his confirmation.
Meanwhile, Deputy Army Undersecretary Dave Fitzgerald, a Driscoll ally, is also expected to step down this week, according to CBS News.
Pentagon officials are reportedly watching closely to see who Trump selects to replace Driscoll. Hegseth ally and chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has emerged as a possible contender, a move that could give the secretary even tighter control over the Army and its personnel.
One defense official offered The Atlantic a grim assessment of what could follow if an intensely political Hegseth loyalist takes the job.
“What happens then?” the official asked. “Generational damage.”
How about the other armed forces?? save USCG