Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will leave his post any day now. A close ally of JD Vance, he was famously at odds with Pete Hegseth. In the background, the Iranian crisis and the 2028 Republican presidential primaries loom
Earthquake at the Pentagon. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will leave his post in the next few days. This was confirmed by some sources interviewed by The Hill. It had been known for days that the person concerned was about to take a step back. However, the White House would have preferred his farewell to take place after the mid-term elections, which will be held in November. Driscoll, it seems, instead decided to speed up the process. Always The Hill reported that Deputy Secretary of the Army Dave Fitzgerald is also expected to resign this week.
The turning point, although expected, is very significant, also because it takes place in the midst of the Iranian crisis and, in particular, the naval blockade that the United States has decreed against the Islamic Republic. Not only that. This internal shake-up at the Pentagon is taking place even as it appears that Washington is ready to resume negotiations with Moscow on the Ukrainian crisis. Yesterday, on the sidelines of the G20 in Ashville, the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, spoke with his Russian counterpart, Anton Siluanov, about the 28-point peace plan developed by the White House.
A close ally of JD Vance, Driscoll had very early come to terms with the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth. Already in September last year, the latter became irritated after Driscoll invited Donald Trump to visit the Department of Defense. Hegseth also didn’t like the fact that the White House had involved him in the Ukraine peace process. The relationship between the two then deteriorated significantly after, in April this year, Hegseth fired the Army chief of staff, Randy George: a figure considered very close to Driscoll. So much so that the latter, during a congressional hearing, said he was sorry for that dismissal, in a jab – not even very implicit – at the head of the Pentagon.
Without a doubt, all these tensions are partly explained by the “encirclement syndrome” from which, according to those in the know, Hegseth seems to suffer. In other words, the latter always feared that sooner or later, Driscoll would be able to steal his shoes and take the leadership of the Pentagon away from him. However, it cannot be ruled out at all that these fibrillations are part of a broader and more complex picture. It is in fact likely that, by hitting Driscoll, the Pentagon chief indirectly wanted to hit Vance. First of all, it is known that the vice president and the defense secretary are at loggerheads over the management of the Iranian crisis: if Vance pushes for a diplomatic solution, Hegseth – closer to the Israeli positions – is instead a supporter of the hard line. Secondly, NBC News recently reported that the Pentagon chief was considering running for office nominations Republican presidential election in 2028: if confirmed, this would make him a direct competitor to Vance, who famously harbors the same ambition.
The problem, for Hegseth, is that his position is becoming increasingly shaky. In recent months, various Republican lawmakers have expressed skepticism about the Defense secretary both regarding his management of the Iranian crisis and his tensions with Driscoll. Furthermore, although he has officially denied any friction, Trump himself would be irritated with Hegesth for the problems that the United States is facing in terms of ammunition supplies. In short, the game that the head of the Pentagon is playing is risky. And it could backfire, ultimately benefiting Vance.
