Army Secretary Dan Driscoll tendered his resignation last week following clashes with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. During a White House meeting, President Donald Trump encouraged Driscoll to stay through the midterm elections while expressing support as departures mount across the top ranks of the Pentagon.
When Army Secretary Dan Driscoll informed President Donald Trump of his planned departure last week, the president suggested he remain in his post at least through the midterm elections, according to people familiar with the meeting. The exchange highlighted mounting tensions inside the Pentagon, where Driscoll has frequently clashed with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the direction of the military.
Clashes Over Pentagon Leadership and Policy
During their White House discussion regarding his resignation, Driscoll voiced direct concerns to the president about the damage he said Hegseth was doing to the Army, according to reporting from The Washington Post. A source familiar with Driscoll’s resignation noted that the Army secretary had expressed concerns that many of the generals who had been leading efforts to transform the Army for the next generation of warfare had been pushed out by Hegseth.
Those high-level departures form part of a broader shakeup across the defense apparatus. At least 20 generals, admirals and civilian defense leaders have been fired or have departed their jobs since Pete Hegseth became defense secretary at the beginning of the second Trump administration. Before becoming defense secretary, Hegseth had criticized military officers, accusing them of being too focused on diversity initiatives and insufficiently supportive of frontline service members. Before he was nominated, he said on a podcast that "any general that was involved — general, admiral, whatever — that was involved in any of the DEI woke s*** has got to go."
“any general that was involved — general, admiral, whatever — that was involved in any of the DEI woke s*** has got to go.”
Pete Hegseth
The Trump administration has pushed out top female and Black officers, and Black and female officers have been disproportionately removed from promotion lists, a source familiar with the lists told CBS News. There are currently no active four-star women generals or admirals in the military. Many of those who failed to secure promotions have left the military. There is a statutory cap on the number of active-duty general officers in the military, and a recent CRS report says there can be 36 four-star generals or admirals. Some of those forced out left before the end of their assignment, while others were ousted by Hegseth over suspected leaking to the media.
High-Profile Departures Across Air Force and Navy Ranks
Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Mr. Trump abruptly fired Brown in a February 2025 social media post thanking him for his service, 16 months into Brown’s four-year term as the top-ranking military officer. Brown is a former fighter pilot with more than 3,100 flight hours, and was only the second Black general to serve as chairman in the history of the military. All Hegseth told Fox News about the ouster was that the president should be able to pick his adviser, stating that Brown is "an honorable man, not the right man for the moment." Mr. Trump replaced him as chairman with Air Force Gen. Dan Caine.
Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations: Franchetti was the first woman to be part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the second to be promoted to four-star admiral. Biden nominated her to be chief of naval operations in 2023, after she headed the 6th Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Korea, and was commander of a naval destroyer and an aircraft carrier strike group. Hegseth relieved Franchetti of her duties without explanation on the same day that Brown was fired.
General James Slife, Air Force vice chief of staff: After Mr. Trump announced Brown’s departure in February of last year, Hegseth put out a statement pushing out Franchetti and Slife. In his statement, Hegseth said both officers had "distinguished careers" and thanked them for their service. Slife, who was the second-highest-ranking officer in the Air Force, previously commanded the Air Force Special Operations Command and also was vice commander of Special Operations Command, spending most of his career in special operations aviation assignments with more than 3,100 flight hours, including 280 in combat.
General Randy George, Army chief of staff: Hegseth asked George, the Army’s top uniformed officer, to take immediate retirement in April. A career infantry officer, George served in the first Gulf War and the more recent Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and was senior military assistant to Biden-era Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
General David Allvin, Air Force chief of staff: Allvin retired last November, just over halfway into his two-year term as the Air Force’s top general. He did not give a reason for his early departure, and an Air Force spokesperson said Hegseth’s office was not involved in the decision. A command pilot, Allvin was nominated to the role by Biden, after serving as vice chief of staff and as commanding general of NATO Air Training Command – Afghanistan, among other roles.
Legal Leadership Cleared and Uncertain Futures Ahead
Soon after Hegseth took office, he also cleared out the top ranks of the military’s lawyers, terminating Army Lieutenant General Joseph B. Berger III as the judge advocate general of the Army and Air Force Lieutenant General Charles Plummer as the judge advocate general of the Air Force. The Navy judge advocate general had already retired.
While President Trump’s suggestion that Driscoll stay at least through the midterm elections indicates a show of support for a top Pentagon leader, the timeline of Driscoll’s planned departure following his meeting at the White House remains part of the ongoing administrative changes across the Department of Defense.
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