Army Secretary Dan Driscoll considering stepping down, sources say

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is considering stepping down from his post by the end of the year, two people familiar with the matter told CBS News Saturday.

The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. A Pentagon spokesperson directed CBS News to the Army for comment, and CBS News has reached out to the Army.

The possibility of Driscoll stepping down follows months of behind-the-scenes friction between him and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth in early April ousted Gen. Randy George as Army chief of staff, a close friend of Driscoll, with Hegseth asking George to step down and take early retirement.

At the time, CBS News reported that George sent an outgoing email to Driscoll and other staff members in which he wrote that U.S. service members deserved "courageous leaders of character."

It also comes after CBS News reported earlier this week that the Army was planning to phase out a drone battalion tasked with studying and taking on board lessons on drone warfare, including from the war in Ukraine.

That drone unit, known as the Unmanned Assault Battalion, was formed just last year by George and former commander of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Gen. Christopher Donahue .

Multiple current and former U.S. officials told CBS News the decision to end it came amid tension between the senior officers who championed the battalion and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who has served in the role of acting Army chief of staff since George's departure.

Last year, Driscoll and George also jointly rolled out what they called the Army Transformation Initiative , which emphasized unmanned systems.

"I don't think I've talked to a single person who has said we shouldn't be learning from what's occurring in Ukraine," Driscoll said in a November interview on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

The 39-year-old Driscoll has served in the position since he was confirmed by the Senate in February 2025.

A close friend and former adviser to Vice President JD Vance, Driscoll was an Army officer for four years, during which he deployed to Iraq in 2009, according to his Army biography.

He left active duty in 2011 and went on to earn his law degree from Yale University, after which he worked in private equity and venture capital.