WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced this evening that Adam Telle will step in as the acting Army secretary, “effective immediately.”
Telle, currently serving as the Senate-confirmed assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, will take the Army’s top civilian role following today’s departure of Secretary Dan Drisoll, who handed in his resignation Monday. He will jump the line on Michael Obidal, the undersecretary of the Army, a position which commonly becomes the acting secretary in such cases.
“He is a Great Patriot, who is respected by all,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
According to his Army bio, Telle previously served as the chief of staff to Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), as Trump’s chief liaison to the Senate and other roles related to Congress.
“The president made an excellent choice in appointing him to serve as Acting Secretary of the Army,” Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Roger Wicker said in a statement. “Adam has been a fantastic partner as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. I am confident he will succeed in leading America’s Army.”
Telle is taking the role in a temporary capacity at a time of great change for the land service, which is going through a push for modernization but now lacks confirmed leaders for both the top civilian and uniformed roles.
Back in April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, with Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve standing in for the top uniformed post. However, the White House has not formally nominated LeNeve to take on the role, amidst reports of bipartisan concern about his credentials.
A department spokesperson recently told Breaking Defense that the Pentagon is working to “lock in” that nomination.
Island surge: the Army’s Next Generation Command and Control in action
Lightning Surge exercises are turning soldier feedback on NGC2 into operational software changes in days, not years.
LaNeve “has the complete and total trust of [Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth. As we have made clear, we are actively coordinating with our Senate partners to lock in the optimal moment to formally submit his nomination, and we intend to do so,” Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman — and someone reportedly on Hegseth’s shortlist to for the Army role — said last week.