The Army Needs Good Leaders. Why Is Hegseth Firing Them?

When Dan Driscoll announced his resignation as secretary of the Army on Monday, the Pentagon lost one of its few remaining grown-ups. At least, that is the view of military and congressional insiders who spoke to me about his departure.

While his ostensible boss, Pete Hegseth, has managed the nation’s military like a summer camp bully (firing generals and hosting push-up contests), Driscoll was perceived by many in Congress and the White House as a quiet check on the erratic moves of the secretary of defense. And at a moment when the U.S. is relaunching strikes against Iran, Driscoll’s role was as important as ever.

“Dan was trying to protect the integrity of the promotion process,” one administration official who works on military affairs told me. “Dan was not a wokester. He campaigned for Trump. But he also believed in the institution and was trying to keep the front office from meddling in the merit-based promotion process.”

Driscoll tried his best to shield that process from the defense secretary’s whims. Early on, Hegseth unilaterally removed officers from promotion lists generated by the senior ranks of their services. But in recent months, Hegseth has conducted a purge of sorts. The highest-profile example was Hegseth’s sudden termination in April of General Randy George, the Army chief of staff. That same month, John Phelan, the secretary of the Navy, was pushed out of his post by Hegseth. In June, Hegseth maneuvered to cut short the term of General Chris Donahue, who was serving as commander for the U.S. Army in Europe and Africa. Donahue had a legendary reputation as a special operations officer and his dismissal was viewed in Congress as “a slap in the face,” one Senate Republican staffer told me.