Daniel Driscoll confirmed as Army secretary for Trump administration
The Army is getting a new leader after Daniel Driscoll secured enough Senate votes Tuesday to become the service’s secretary, allowing him to take the wheel for the organization as it pursues major transformation efforts across the force.
The final vote tally was 66-28 to confirm.
President Donald Trump in December picked Driscoll to be Army secretary, the service’s top civilian post, stating he would act as a “disruptor and change agent” at the Pentagon and be “a fearless and relentless fighter for America’s Soldiers and the America First agenda.” He was officially nominated Jan. 20 after Trump was inaugurated for his second term.
Driscoll, an Army veteran who deployed with the 10th Mountain Division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, previously worked in venture capital and private equity and was a senior adviser to JD Vance before he became vice president.
During his confirmation process, Driscoll told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee that the department should purchase more commercial off-the-shelf technologies, including drones.
“Wherever possible, and as required by Federal Acquisition Regulations, the Army should purchase non-development and COTS solutions to meet requirements. Some capabilities require the Army to undertake independent development, but many of the Army’s most pressing needs: small-unmanned aerial systems, counter-unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare systems, and communications gear have already been developed,” he wrote in his responses to senators’ advance policy questions.
He warned that the service’s “technological edge is shrinking,” noting that the organization needs to speed up its modernization efforts and better prepare its forces for the advances in “autonomous warfare” and drone operations that have been observed during the Ukraine-Russia war.
Modernization initiatives currently in the works for the Army include artificial intelligence tools, next-generation network capabilities, robotic combat vehicles and optionally manned fighting vehicles, air defense systems, directed energy weapons, new aircraft and drones, information technology, hypersonic missiles and hypervelocity projectiles, and augmented reality goggles, among others.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is waiting for other nominees to be confirmed and fill top posts at the Pentagon, which is now under the leadership of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. That includes Trump’s picks for deputy secretary of defense; Navy secretary; Air Force secretary; undersecretaries overseeing acquisition and sustainment, research and engineering, policy, and intelligence and security; assistant secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict and other key jobs.
Trump is also expected to soon put forth additional nominations. Last week, he fired Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and removed Adm. Lisa Franchetti as chief of naval operations, along with several other senior officials. After firing Brown, Trump said he intends to nominate retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine to serve as Brown’s replacement, although that nomination hasn’t been officially submitted to Congress. The administration hasn’t announced a nominee to replace Franchetti.
