Trump Nominates Dan Driscoll for Army Secretary

The U.S. Department of the Army seal hangs on the wall at the Pentagon in Washington, on Feb. 24, 2009. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Army veteran Daniel Driscoll to be the next secretary of the Army.

“As a former Soldier, Investor, and Political Advisor, Dan brings a powerful combination of experiences to serve as a disruptor and change agent,” Trump said in a Dec. 4 Truth social post announcing the nomination.

Driscoll joined the Army after graduating from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. During his Army career, Driscoll attended Ranger School and served as a cavalry scout platoon leader. He completed a combat deployment in Iraq.

Upon returning from Iraq, Driscoll attended Yale Law School, where his path crossed with incoming Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Since graduating from Yale, Driscoll has been involved in venture capital and private equity projects. More recently, he has also worked as a senior adviser to Vance.

“Dan will be a fearless and relentless fighter for America’s Soldiers and the America First agenda,” Trump said.

The Army secretary’s role entails shaping and managing the service’s budget, along with overseeing manpower efforts and advancing weapons development and acquisition efforts.

If confirmed by the Senate, Driscoll will assume responsibility over the Army at a time when the service has struggled with recruitment.

The service is also currently pursuing modernization efforts, including working to advance new ground combat vehicles such as the M-10 Booker, and develop a new infantry fighting vehicle to succeed the M2 Bradley. Another project to develop a new vertical lift aircraft to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is also currently in the works.

Christine Wormuth is currently serving as the Army secretary.

Robert Speer and Ryan McCarthy both temporarily served as acting secretaries of the Army during Trump’s first term.

Mark Esper was Trump’s first Senate-confirmed nominee to serve as the Army secretary. Esper went on to receive the nomination and Senate confirmation to become Trump’s second secretary of defense.

McCarthy was Trump’s second Senate-confirmed Army secretary, following Esper.

Trump’s nomination of Driscoll for the Army secretary position comes as his defense secretary nominee, Army veteran-turned-author and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, faces headwinds going into his confirmation process.

As the vetting process proceeds, there is growing attention around a 2017 police report raising a sexual assault allegation against Hegseth. Police never charged Hegseth over the report, and the defense secretary nominee has denied the resurfaced allegation.

Hegseth has signaled he’s not withdrawing from consideration.

“I’m doing this for the warfighters, not the warmongers,” Hegseth wrote in a Dec. 4 X post. “Our warriors never back down, & neither will I.”