Insider reveals which Trump Cabinet member is giving GOP 'buyers' remorse'

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 26, 2026.

As President Donald Trump continues to deal with the fallout of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigning to protest the Republican's handling of military policy, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pushing for a controversial replacement — Hegseth's own spokesman, Sean Parnell.

"Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon allies are waging a behind-the-scenes campaign against administration officials vying for the Army Secretary job — an unprecedented effort to get the Defense secretary’s spokesperson nominated for the role," reported Politico's Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch on Tuesday. "They’re advocating for Sean Parnell — an Army combat veteran and unsuccessful Pennsylvania congressional candidate — over Army Comptroller Marc Andersen and Assistant Secretary for Special Operations Derrick Anderson, who the White House is also considering for the job, according to a defense official and an administration official."

The reporters added, "The move would install Hegseth’s loyalists in the two most powerful Army positions. The Pentagon chief fired the service’s top uniformed leader, Gen. Randy George, in April and replaced him with Gen. Christopher LaNeve, Hegseth’s former military adviser. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned last month over concerns about the direction of the Pentagon."

Politico continued, "'Everyone in the Pentagon knows that Secretary Hegseth’s preferred pick for secretary of the Army is Sean Parnell,' said the defense official. 'The other Pentagon officials being floated in the media as potential candidates are just trying to up their public profiles so they can land big jobs when they leave the administration.'"

The publication also quoted outgoing Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) saying, “The Senate’s going to be a little tougher on them than what they were two years ago. I don’t think they’re going to get a freebie.”

Parnell is controversial because, like Hegseth, he faces accusations of having been abusing toward women. In 2018 he wrote a novel in which there were scenes where women were strangled, pinned, violently abused and called "whore." Later, when he ran for political office, it came out that he had been accused of trying to strangle his ex-wife. Parnell later lost custody of his three children to his former spouse.

"Laurie Snell and Parnell separated in 2018. They have three children, ages 12, 11 and 8. During her testimony on the first day of the Butler County custody trial on Nov. 1, Snell alleged that Parnell had physically abused both her and her children," the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported in 2021. "A court docket in the case showed Senior Judge James Arner awarded primary physical and sole legal custody to Snell, with partial physical custody to go to Parnell."

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