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Dan Driscoll’s departure as Army secretary has brought new scrutiny to the Trump administration’s sweeping changes at the Pentagon, with Democrats and some Republicans warning that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s approach is creating instability among the military’s top leaders.
But the president replacing senior military leaders is nothing new. Presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Harry Truman have removed commanders when they lost confidence in their leadership, disagreed over strategy or wanted a different direction.
What stands out about the current moment is the pace of the turnover — and the debate over whether the administration’s changes are putting the military on a stronger footing or creating leadership gaps along the way.
COMMANDING GENERAL OF THE US ARMY IN EUROPEAN AND AFRICAN THEATER IS UNEXPECTEDLY STEPPING DOWN
President Donald Trump speaks during a visit with Michigan Air National Guard Troops April 29, 2025, at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said Hegseth is “creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks” while ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed of Rhode Island said, “Hegseth is cultivating a culture where dissent is punished, and competence is secondary to personal allegiance.”
Under Trump’s second term, at least 20 military leaders have departed over a combination of clashes, including over Hegseth’s leadership, military strategy, as well as disagreements over DEI, according to a CBS report.
Parnell told Fox News Digital that the Pentagon is “unified behind” Hegseth’s vision.
“Secretary Hegseth has been a transformative leader for the Department of War and, at President Trump’s direction, has ushered in a new era of Peace Through Strength. Standards and merit are back, our arsenal is stronger than ever before, and morale and recruitment across every service are at all-time highs,” added Parnell. “Secretary Hegseth has slashed bureaucracy, unleashed innovation, and delivered for our warfighters every step of the way.”
Presidents dating back to Abraham Lincoln have removed senior military leaders when they believed a change in personnel was necessary — a longstanding feature of civilian control of the military, not a new invention of the current administration.
Then-President Barrack Obama accepted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resignation in 2014 after the president concluded that new Pentagon leadership was needed amid disagreements over the administration’s strategy against ISIS, Syria policy and the management of the Defense Department.
PENTAGON FIRES BACK AFTER MARK KELLY ACCUSES PETE HEGSETH OF TARGETING WOMEN AND BLACK MILITARY OFFICERS
Former presidents Obama, Truman and Lincoln all had military shake-ups. (Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, Taylor Hill/Getty Images, Circa Images/GHI/Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Reports at the time indicated the departure was a forced resignation.
Following Hagel’s departure, Obama said the former Defense Secretary had “guided the department through this transition” and that it was “an appropriate time for him to complete his service.” He praised Hagel for helping modernize the military’s strategy and meet Obama’s concern for longterm threats such as China’s rise and Russian aggression.
Harry Truman removed five-star Army general and one of the most prominent U.S. commanders of World War II Douglas MacArthur.
The two men clashed over the Korean War with Truman wanting to avoid spreading conflict to China while MacArthur advocated for the opposite.
One early example came during the Civil War, when Abraham Lincoln removed Gen. George McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac after growing frustrated with his cautious approach to fighting Gen. Robert E. Lee. Lincoln later removed Ambrose Burnside after the Union’s defeat at Fredericksburg and replaced him with Joseph Hooker.
RENEWED PATRIOTISM AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FUEL ARMY’S BIGGEST RECRUITING SURGE IN YEARS
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll briefed reporters on Army modernization. (Cheriss May/Getty Images)
Trump named Adam Telle as acting secretary of the Army Thursday, calling him “a Great Patriot, who is respected by all” and saying he would assume the role immediately after Driscoll’s resignation.
Telle previously was the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
Driscoll’s exit comes after reportedly butting heads with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over concerns with the administration about the Army’s transformation and readiness, including his belief that Hegseth had hindered those efforts.
U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth listen to questions from the press during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images)
Vice President Vance said Thursday Driscoll was a “very good friend” of his and was a “great secretary of the Army.”
Vance acknowledged that he agreed with Hegseth, that there is a need to “have a culture shift at the Department of War.”
US ARMY HITS 2026 RECRUITING GOALS FOUR MONTHS EARLY, PETE HEGSETH ANNOUNCES AT WEST POINT COMMENCEMENT
“Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s 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 spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement.
“The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War,” she added.
Trumps entered his first administration with the message of peace through strength seeking to reinvent global perception of America while also modernizing the military such as creating the U.S. Space Force.
During his first term, Trump had two Senate-confirmed defense secretaries, including Jim Mattis, who resigned in 2018 after Trump announced plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, and Mark Esper, whom Trump fired in 2020 after disagreements that included the military’s role in responding to domestic unrest.
“Changes in civilian leadership at the military-service level aren’t unusual. During President Trump’s first administration alone, the Army had two Senate-confirmed secretaries, Mark Esper and Ryan McCarthy, while Robert Speer and McCarthy also served as acting secretaries during leadership transitions,” a senior Pentagon official told Fox News Digital.
“There’s a reason the law is structured this way,” the official added. “The Department of the Army operates under the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of the Army is specifically responsible for ensuring Army policy is consistent with the President’s and Defense Secretary’s national-security policies and that their decisions and instructions are implemented effectively and on time.”
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Trump came back during his second term with an aggressive approach to rebuilding the American military, tightening fitness requirements, axing DEI policies, overhauling weapons acquisition, building up recruitment and refocusing the force on combat readiness and lethality.
