Trump 'surprised' as departing Army leader reveals scope of chief’s purge

Members of the U.S. Army take part in a fitness competition on the day of a military parade to commemorate the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday in Washington, D.C. US, June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt

In the aftermath of President Donald Trump's Secretary of the Army resigning on Monday — amidst a purge of military personnel equating to more than nine centuries of experience — a new report reveals that the outgoing officer was deeply alarmed at Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's gutting of America's armed forces.

"During a White House meeting last week, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll brought his concerns about the future of the Army under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directly to President Trump — a sign of how far tensions between the two Pentagon leaders had escalated, and of the dysfunction inside the building, four people familiar with the conversation told us," reported The Atlantic's Nancy A. Youssef, Missy Ryan and Michael Scherer on Monday. "Trump was surprised when Driscoll told him how many generals and other top officers had been fired, pushed out, or passed over for promotion under Hegseth, one of the people said. Driscoll argued that the Army could not transform itself the way it needs to because of the departure of so many leaders, this person said, adding that Trump expressed concern about the deep cuts to the Army’s senior leadership. Driscoll informed the president of his intention to resign — and by today, Driscoll was on his way out."

The journalists added, "Hegseth’s purge of the military has been so dramatic that with Driscoll gone, the military’s largest service is left without a top civilian leader, a Senate-confirmed top general, a confirmed Army general in charge of operations, or a confirmed commander of Army troops in Europe. Because of all the firings across the service over the past year, the Army, with more than 450,000 active-duty soldiers positioned across the globe, has fewer generals than at any point in recent history. Driscoll’s personal appeal to Trump just days before his exit was the most direct articulation of high-level concerns among Pentagon leaders about the strains facing the force — including Hegseth’s intervention in Army personnel decisions and the mounting demands of the Iran war."

They also observed that Hegseth's rationales for firing people and withholding promotions have demoralized the ranks.

"The Army has long prided itself on representing the diversity of the country, but under Hegseth, minorities and women have been pushed out or barred from promotion," Youssef, Ryan and Scherer wrote. "The military has long sought to be apolitical, but under Hegseth, troops are measured not by combat experience but by their perceived loyalty to the administration. Among the generals fired have been some of the most experienced and decorated in the service. Each departure marks the loss of decades of investment in that soldier and raises questions about how future troops can rise through the ranks."

Driscoll left his position after months of clashing with Hegseth. According to a report by The Washington Post in April, “Hegseth and Driscoll have disagreed on numerous issues, including Hegseth’s moves to block the promotions of several Army officers." They added that if Driscoll stepped down, Trump might replace him with Hegseth's top spokesman Sean Parnell, which alarms observers as Parnell is perceived as being just as political and interested in culture war battles as Hegseth himself.

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