Donald Trump has appointed Adam Telle as acting Secretary of the Army, hours after Dan Driscoll left the post amid reported tensions with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The president announced the change in a Truth Social post on Thursday night, saying the current Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works would take over with immediate effect.
“He is a Great Patriot, who is respected by all,” Mr Trump wrote.
Mr Telle can serve in the role for up to 210 days under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, meaning a permanent successor would need to be appointed by the end of March 2027 unless the timetable is extended by a nomination to the Senate.
A permanent Army secretary would require confirmation by a majority of senators. Mr Driscoll’s departure leaves the service without a Senate-confirmed civilian leader at a time of reported upheaval within the Pentagon.
The Washington Post reported that Mr Trump had suggested Mr Driscoll remain in office at least until the midterm elections when the pair met last week. Mr Driscoll is also understood to have raised concerns about the direction of the Army under Mr Hegseth, although the White House disputed that account.
Mr Driscoll gave no public explanation for his resignation. In a statement posted on X, he described serving as Army secretary under Mr Trump and Mr Hegseth as “the honor of a lifetime” and credited the Defence Secretary with supporting the service’s modernisation efforts.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell rejected suggestions that Mr Hegseth had obstructed those efforts, calling the claim “a total fabrication” and saying that the idea the department was in disarray was “completely baseless”.
Mr Telle was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works in August 2025 after being nominated by Mr Trump and confirmed by the Senate. The Army says his responsibilities include oversight of the civil works programme run by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Before joining the Army Department, Mr Telle served as chief of staff to Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. He previously worked as Mr Trump’s chief liaison to the Senate and was involved in the Abraham Accords and the authorisation of the US Space Force.
Mr Hagerty congratulated Mr Telle on his appointment, describing the Army secretary position as “a critical position for our nation’s defence” and saying he could not imagine “a better leader for the world’s greatest warriors”.
Mr Trump has nominated acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao to hold that position on a permanent basis, but his nomination will also require Senate approval.
