Daniel P. Driscoll
{{Short description|United States secretary of the Army since 2025}}
{{Similar names|Daniel Driscoll (disambiguation){{!}}Dan Driscoll}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dan Driscoll
| image = Daniel P. Driscoll.jpg
| alt = Headshot of Driscoll in a suit
| caption = Official portrait, 2025
| order = 26th
| office = United States Secretary of the Army
| president = Donald Trump
| deputy = David R. Fitzgerald (acting)
| term_start = February 25, 2025
| term_end =
| predecessor = Christine Wormuth
| successor =
| office1 = Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
| president1 = Donald Trump
| deputy1 =
| term_start1 = April 10, 2025{{cite web | url=https://www.atf.gov/about/leadership/acting-director | title=Acting Director | ATF }}
| term_end1 =
| predecessor1 = Kash Patel
| successor1 =
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|38|2024|12|4}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Republican
| spouse = Cassie Driscoll
| children = 2
| education = University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BS)
Yale University (JD)
| allegiance = United States
| branch = United States Army
| serviceyears = 2007–2011
| rank = First Lieutenant
| mawards = Army Commendation Medal
Ranger tab
Combat Action Badge
| battles = Iraq War
}}
Daniel Patrick Driscoll is an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and former military officer serving as the 26th United States secretary of the Army as well as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he was a candidate for North Carolina's 11th congressional district in 2020.
Early life and education
Driscoll was raised in Banner Elk, North Carolina.{{cite news |title=Driscoll, of Boone, appointed as Secretary of the Army |url=https://www.carolinajournal.com/driscoll-of-boone-appointed-as-secretary-of-the-army/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |work=The Carolina Journal |date=4 December 2024}} He earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School after his military service using the post 9-11 GI Bill.{{cite news |last1=Chavez |first1=Karen |title=Republican businessman Dan Driscoll runs for 11th District on security, job creation |url=https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/07/republican-businessman-dan-driscoll-runs-for-11th-district-on-security-job-creation/1749008007/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |work=Henderson Times-News}} He was a Yale classmate and friend of Vice President JD Vance,{{cite news |last1=Evans |first1=Nick |title=How J.D. Vance went from 'Hillbilly Elegy' to being tapped as Trump's 2024 running mate |url=https://penncapital-star.com/campaigns-elections/how-j-d-vance-went-from-hillbilly-elegy-to-being-tapped-as-trumps-2024-running-mate__trashed-2/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |work=Pennsylvania Capital-Star |date=15 July 2024}} former national security advisor Jake Sullivan, and Matt Blumenthal (the son of U.S. senator from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal).{{cite news |last1=Myers |first1=Meghann |title=Army secretary nominee talks drones, recruiting, and lawful orders at confirmation hearing |url=https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/01/army-secretary-nominee-talks-drones-recruiting-and-lawful-orders-confirmation-hearing/402627/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |work=Defense One |date=30 January 2025}} Driscoll's father was an infantryman in the Vietnam War and his grandfather served in World War II.{{cite news |last1=Nieberg |first1=Patty |title=Senators grilled Army secretary nominee for 2 hours. Quality-of-life issues barely came up |url=https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-secretary-confirmation-hearing-daniel-driscoll/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |website=Task & Purpose |date=30 January 2025}}
Career
Driscoll was in the United States Army for three and a half years serving as a lieutenant. He was an armor officer between August 2007 and March 2011 and a cavalry scout platoon leader with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. He deployed to Iraq for nine months in October 2009. Driscoll earned his Ranger tab at U.S. Army Ranger School and Combat Action Badge. Driscoll later interned for the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs{{Cite web |date=December 4, 2024 |title=A Former Soldier Brings His Experiences to YLS |url=https://ylr.law.yale.edu/pdfs/v60-2/S13_development.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204221438/https://ylr.law.yale.edu/pdfs/v60-2/S13_development.pdf |archive-date=2024-12-04 |access-date=December 4, 2024 |website=Development News - Yale Law Report, Summer 2013}} and worked at an investment bank in Charlotte, North Carolina.
During law school, Driscoll interned for the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, Ninth Circuit chief judge Alex Kozinski, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson. Driscoll then ran for the Republican nomination to represent North Carolina's 11th congressional district in the 2020 election.{{cite news |last1=Chavez |first1=Karen |title=Republican businessman Dan Driscoll runs for 11th District on security, job creation |url=https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/07/republican-businessman-dan-driscoll-runs-for-11th-district-on-security-job-creation/1749008007/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |work=Blue Ridge Times-Now |date=7 February 2020}}
=Secretary of the Army=
On December 4, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Driscoll to be the secretary of the Army for his second administration.{{cite news |last1=Pandolfo |first1=Chris |title=Trump announces picks for Army secretary, trade adviser, hostage envoy, NASA administrator and more |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-announces-picks-army-secretary-trade-adviser-hostage-envoy-nasa-administrator |access-date=31 January 2025 |publisher=Fox News |date=4 December 2024}} The Senate confirmation hearing was held on January 30, 2025{{cite news |last1=Harper |first1=Jon |title=Trump's nominee for Army secretary calls for buying more commercial off-the-shelf tech |url=https://defensescoop.com/2025/01/30/daniel-driscoll-army-secretary-sasc-confirmation-hearing-trump-cots-tech/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |publisher=Defense Scoop |date=30 January 2025}} amidst cabinet officials for ODNI, FBI, and HHS.{{cite news |last1=Fattal |first1=Isabel |title=What Trump's Nominees Revealed |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/01/rfk-jr-patel-gabbard-hearings/681523/ |access-date=31 January 2025 |work=The Atlantic Daily |date=30 January 2025}}
On February 25, 2025, the United States Senate confirmed Driscoll to the position of secretary of the Army by a 66-28 vote.{{cite news |last1=Meyn |first1=Colin |title=Senate confirms Vance advisor as Army Secretary |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5162940-daniel-driscoll-confirmed-army-secretary/ |access-date=25 February 2025 |work=The Hill}}
File:Vice President JD Vance Swears In Secretary of the Army (1080p 30fps H264-128kbit AAC).webm
On April 9, 2025, President Donald Trump announced Driscoll would succeed Kash Patel as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/kash-patel-removed-acting-atf-director-replaced-by-army-secretary-sources-say-2025-04-09/ |access-date=9 April 2025 |title=Kash Patel was removed as acting ATF director, US officials confirm |work=Reuters }} In May 2025, Driscoll confirmed the army will cancel the M10 Booker project, citing high costs, a negotiated right to repair maintenance contract, its 38-ton weight, and its design.{{cite web|url=https://taskandpurpose.com/news/m10-booker-tank-cancelled/|title=The Army cancels the M10 Booker, a ‘light tank’ that was too heavy|first1=Matt|last1=White|first2=Patty|last2=Nieberg|publisher=Task&Purpose|accessdate=2025-05-19|date=2025-05-02}}
Personal life
Driscoll is from Boone, North Carolina, and is married to Cassie Driscoll, a plastic surgeon. They have two children.{{cite news |last1=Trump |first1=Donald J. |title=Statement by President-elect Donald J. Trump Announcing the Nomination of Daniel P. Driscoll as Secretary of the Army |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-president-elect-donald-j-trump-announcing-the-nomination-daniel-p-driscoll |access-date=31 January 2025 |publisher=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |date=4 December 2024}}
References
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{{s-bef|before=Christine Wormuth}}
{{s-ttl|title=United States Secretary of the Army|years=2025–present}}
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{{Current US Department of Defense Secretaries}}
{{USSecArm}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Driscoll, Daniel P.}}
Category:21st-century North Carolina politicians
Category:Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections
Category:Military personnel from North Carolina
Category:North Carolina Republicans
Category:People from Avery County, North Carolina
Category:People from Boone, North Carolina
Category:Second Trump administration personnel
Category:United States Army personnel
Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Category:United States Army officers
Category:United States Army personnel of the Iraq War
Category:United States Secretaries of the Army
Category:Yale Law School alumni
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