U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll is reportedly considering stepping down from his post by the end of the year. According to CBS News and Face the Nation, the move would come “after months of behind-the-scenes friction between him and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.”
Iraq War veteran Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Veterans of America (IVA) and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), responded to the Driscoll report, writing, “If he does, I hope he walks on over to see @sebastianjunger at 60 Minutes and spills his guts. And continues to fight this madness from the outside.”
If he does, I hope he walks on over to see @sebastianjunger at 60 Minutes and spills his guts. And continues to fight this madness from the outside. https://t.co/5DEeZgrEdY
— Paul Rieckhoff
(@PaulRieckhoff) August 28, 2026
[NOTE: Journalist Sebastian Junger, who covered the war in Afghanistan for more than a decade and wrote about it in his 2010 book War, joined the CBS program 60 Minutes this summer. The new season debuts on Sunday, September 13.]
Rieckhoff also commented on a report that Hegseth is considering replacing Driscoll with Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, a veteran and retired U.S. Army captain. NOTUS defense reporter Joe Gould noted that Parnell “would probably face a tough path to Senate confirmation,” to which Rieckhoff replied, “Ya think? We used to say the same thing about Hegseth. Not in 2026. Anything is possible.”
Ya think?
We used to say the same thing about Hegseth.
Not in 2026. Anything is possible. https://t.co/Y9kLcf5fHE
— Paul Rieckhoff
[NOTE: Driscoll, who ran for the Republican nomination to represent North Carolina’s 11th congressional district in the 2020 election (Trump-endorsed candidate Madison Cawthorn won the seat), worked on Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and was recommended by JD Vance to become the secretary of the Army.]
Parnell also ran for a congressional seat in 2020. As the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania’s 17th congressional district that year, he lost to incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Conor Lamb. In 2022, Lamb did not run for re-election and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D), an Iraq War veteran, has held the seat since.