The chaos inside Hegseth’s defense department that left Trump ‘concerned’ by scale of purge

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll left the Pentagon on September 1 after 18 months in the job, the latest senior defense figure to depart amid reports of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. No reason was given. CNN and Reuters had earlier reported months of clashes between the two men. The Atlantic, citing sources, reports that Driscoll raised alarms with President Trump in the Oval Office in late August, arguing that Hegseth was undermining Army modernization and readiness by dismissing the generals leading those efforts. Trump was reportedly surprised and concerned by how many senior officers had been removed, leaving the department with fewer generals than at any recent point, according to The Independent.

In a Rolling Stone interview, Driscoll acknowledged disagreements but said he and Hegseth likely agreed on more than half of issues. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell dismissed that outlet's reporting as false and praised Hegseth's leadership.

Hegseth has announced a further 10 percent reduction in general and admiral positions, after an equal cut last year. Earlier exits include Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Admiral Lisa Franchetti, NSA director Timothy Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble, and Air Force chief of staff Gen. David Allvin.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →