RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Washington \u2014 Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is resigning, the White House confirmed Monday, after months of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.\u00a0"Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump\u0027s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CBS News. "The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War."\u00a0A U.S. official told CBS News the secretary spoke to President Trump about the current state of the Army and submitted his resignation.Deputy Army Undersecretary Dave Fitzgerald is also expected to step down this week, according to a U.S. official.CBS News reported last week that Driscoll was considering stepping down from his post by the end of the year.An Iraq war veteran and former adviser to Vice President JD Vance, Driscoll has served as the Army\u0027s top civilian leader since his Senate confirmation in February 2025.\u00a0His tenure has included the U.S. operation that captured former Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro \u2014 which involved members of the Army\u0027s elite Delta Force \u2014 and the ongoing war with Iran. Driscoll has also met with Ukrainian and Russian officials as part of Mr. Trump\u0027s push to end Russia\u0027s war against Ukraine, and his time leading the Army coincided with a plan to cut the number of U.S. forces in Germany.But there have been behind-the-scenes tensions between Hegseth and Driscoll, CBS News has reported.Earlier this year, Hegseth ousted Gen. Randy George \u2014 a close friend of Driscoll \u2014 as Army chief of staff, asking him to retire. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, also filed for retirement.Donahue and George were supporters of a newly formed Army drone battalion that was tasked with gleaning lessons from the intense drone warfare in Ukraine. However, the Army began making plans to phase out that unit earlier this month, following friction between the Army officers who supported the new battalion and acting Army chief of staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve, CBS News has reported.George and Driscoll also rolled out a broader plan last year called the Army Transformation Initiative, which focused partially on introducing more unmanned systems.A source familiar with the matter told CBS News that Driscoll had brought up to the Trump administration his concerns surrounding the Army\u0027s transformation efforts and the fact that Hegseth has pushed out some of the generals who were responsible for the transformation.Driscoll is the latest high-level military official to exit. Navy Secretary John Phelan left his role earlier this year, with Mr. Trump saying Phelan "had some conflicts with some other people." Several officers have also retired in the last year, including George, Donahue and U.S. Southern Command commander Adm. Alvin Holsey.
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