U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday it was too early to discuss a potential successor to lead his political movement, sidestepping speculation about a possible 2028 presidential campaign by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as the Pentagon chief faced fresh turmoil following the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
Asked about a report that Hegseth had discussed a potential White House run, Trump said the defense secretary was doing a “fantastic job” but added that it was “very early to talk about that.”
“We have to get through the midterms first,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump’s Republican Party is seeking to maintain control of both chambers of Congress in November’s elections. The president, who is limited to two terms and is due to leave office in 2029, has not named a successor to lead his “Make America Great Again” movement.
Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News television host, campaigned for Republicans at the Iowa State Fair this month. He dismissed as “100% false” a report that he harboured presidential ambitions for 2028.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have also been encouraged by supporters to seek the presidency.
“I’ll bet there’s a lot of people considering it that you don’t know about,” Trump said, adding that Hegseth’s focus was currently on “the military and taking care of the military.”
Trump has also continued to wield considerable influence in Republican politics through his endorsements in the 2026 elections, including support for challengers who went on to defeat sitting senators.
Driscoll resignation exposes tensions inside Pentagon
Meanwhile, Driscoll submitted his resignation to the White House following months of tension with Hegseth, according to a source familiar with the matter.
It was not immediately clear whether the White House had accepted the resignation.
Driscoll, who officials said is close to Vance, is the latest senior official to have either been fired or pushed out amid changes at Hegseth’s Pentagon. His departure comes as the United States remains engaged in a war with Iran, with thousands of U.S. Army soldiers deployed in the Middle East.
According to the source, Driscoll raised concerns within the administration about Army transformation and readiness, accusing Hegseth of blocking those efforts by firing generals responsible for modernization.
The Army declined to comment.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly praised Driscoll’s record, saying he had been highly effective in advancing Trump’s agenda at the Department of the Army through his leadership during military operations, his emphasis on readiness and lethality, and his involvement in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Dave Fitzgerald, the deputy undersecretary of the Army with responsibility for innovation, was also expected to resign, according to the source. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Driscoll, who was confirmed as Army secretary in February 2025, had pushed for the service to become more agile in acquiring cheaper weapons and had been sharply critical of major defense contractors.
He said last year that the defense industrial base and major contractors had “conned the American people and the Pentagon and the Army.”
One U.S. official, speaking anonymously, said Hegseth had viewed Driscoll as a threat within the Pentagon bureaucracy and had long wanted to remove him, although Driscoll’s ties to Vance made that difficult.
Driscoll also gained prominence outside the Pentagon after Trump assigned him to take part in talks with Moscow and Kyiv aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, an unusual diplomatic role for an Army secretary.
Tensions reportedly intensified after Hegseth fired U.S. Army Chief of Staff Randy George in April, a move that caught Driscoll off guard, according to the official. Driscoll later told lawmakers that his family visited the former general and embraced him following his dismissal.
In June, Hegseth also pushed out the head of U.S. Army forces in Europe and personally blocked the promotion of senior Army officials.
Republican Congressman Pat Harrigan praised Driscoll, saying he had brought urgency to an institution that could not afford complacency.
“Dan’s service to this country is far from over,” Harrigan said.
