Army Secretary Warned Trump About Hegseth Just Before Resigning https://t.co/WEezVEiEgY
— The New Republic (@newrepublic) September 1, 2026
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigns after confronting Hegseth
Driscoll resigned after months of conflict with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
This wasn’t just a personality dispute. Reporting says Driscoll objected to Hegseth’s removal of senior generals and interference with Army modernization and personnel decisions. He reportedly went directly to Trump to raise concerns about Hegseth.
The timing is ugly: the U.S. is in its seventh month of war with Iran, and Driscoll’s departure leaves the Army without a Senate-confirmed civilian leader.
The Army now has neither of its top confirmed leaders
This is probably the biggest escalation.
Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April.
Now Driscoll is gone.
That leaves the Army without a Senate-confirmed Army secretary AND Army chief of staff while American forces are fighting a major war.
Gen. Christopher LaNeve is serving as acting chief, while Mike Obadal becomes the highest-ranking civilian at the Army after Driscoll leaves.
CBS counted at least 20 generals, admirals and civilian defense leaders who have been fired, forced out or otherwise departed since Hegseth became defense secretary.
That includes the highest-ranking officers in the Army, Navy and Air Force, plus other senior commanders and civilian officials.
So the Reddit claim that there has been an unusual purge is not made up. The number is now large enough that it is becoming a leadership problem of its own.
Multiple top commanders reportedly objected to Hegseth’s Iran strategy
This is the part closest to the Reddit “generals refusing orders” claim.
The Washington Post reported that several senior commanders submitted “non-concurs” regarding the plan to sustain the U.S. military presence in the Middle East.
The commanders reportedly included:
Adm. Daryl Caudle
Gen. Alexus Grynkewich
Gen. Francis Donovan
Adm. Samuel Paparo
Their concern was not simply political. They reportedly warned that the operational demands were becoming unsustainable and could leave the U.S. exposed elsewhere, including homeland defense.
The Pentagon pushed back hard on the reporting, saying “non-concurs” are part of normal military planning and accusing the report of relying on classified information.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/31/pentagon-report-pete-hegseth