President Trump announced on Thursday night that he had appointed Adam Telle, the current Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, to be Acting Secretary of the Army. According to his official biography, Telle spent more than 20 years working for Republican senators and worked in the White House during Trump’s first term, serving as the president’s chief liaison to the Senate.
Meanwhile, the controversy around Driscoll’s exit continues to swirl. Driscoll believed Hegseth was causing “generational damage” to the largest branch of the US military, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing “a person familiar with his thinking.” Driscoll “had tried so many different ways and so many different times, but it was just clear that . . . Hegseth wasn’t willing to listen to the facts or the truth, or the reason, or any of that, because of his personal animosity,” the person said.
FT notes that Hegseth has fired about 20 generals and admirals since he arrived, and this is causing consternation among Republican senators. In the view of The Hill, “Hegseth is on a collision course with GOP senators as key lawmakers have major concerns about the turnover of senior staff, the lack of a clear plan for ending the Iran war, and the failure of the administration to reach out to Democrats to build support for funding priorities.”
