President Donald Trump's unconventional pick for Army[1] secretary, Dan Driscoll, appeared poised for a smooth confirmation after a Senate hearing Thursday with little Democrat pushback.
Driscoll's hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee stayed far away from culture war issues, including so-called "diversity, equity and inclusion" battles that have defined the early days of Trump's second term and roiled the Pentagon. The phrase "DEI" wasn't mentioned once.
Driscoll, a little-known financier and Iraq War veteran, faced only mild questioning from lawmakers, despite lacking traditional qualifications for the role. He arrived at the hearing as a political blank slate[2] -- an advantage that stood in sharp contrast to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whose confirmation was marred by allegations of sexual assault, alcohol abuse and marital infidelity.
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When asked about how the Army promotes individuals, a perfect tee up for Driscoll to delve into culture war issues, he instead took issue with what he described as the service's bias toward how long a service member has been in a role. Traditionally, promotions are heavily weighted around that time in a specific role, in lieu of their qualifications.
"It's often the best woman or man for the job," Driscoll said, comparing how the private sector promotes versus the Army. "Time in a specific role is less correlated with a promotion. I think the Army can take a similar view."
He added that he agrees the service has an overall merit-based system.
However, some Democrats focused on Driscoll’s seeming lack of knowledge of the Army.
"To be candid, you performed very poorly in your conversation with me," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., noting that Driscoll seemed not to know how large a division is or where the Army is operating in Africa when he met with lawmakers privately last week.
The mellow tone Driscoll had in his hearing and total absence of red meat for the Republican base signaled to some defense officials interviewed that he may be a cooler head than some other Trump appointees, while still lacking many of the basic qualifications for the role.
Additionally, during his unsuccessful 2020 bid for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, the few media engagements Driscoll did and his ads steered clear of any overtly far-right rhetoric or culture issues. He lost that race to Madison Cawthorn, a firebrand whose single term was marred by scandal.
"He certainly isn't a culture warrior; this might be a breath of fresh air," one senior Pentagon official told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. "At the same time, he only appeared to have a very surface-level understanding of the Army."
Hegseth's key initiative has been going after diversity initiatives in the Pentagon, falsely saying during his confirmation hearing there are "quotas" to fill when it comes to promotions and positions. Gender and race are not metrics taken into consideration.
The Army, for example, makes it a point to obscure race for senior officer promotion boards. There are no policies, anywhere in the military, to fill units with specified volumes of troops from certain demographics.
Driscoll went into the hearing as an unknown figure in the Pentagon and having no background in national security. His resume includes just under four years of service as a cavalry officer with an Iraq deployment[4] with the 10th Mountain Division, leaving the service as a first lieutenant.
His position would have not exposed him to any high-level planning, and he would have never managed more than a few dozen soldiers at a time.
After his service, he went to Yale Law School, where he was classmates with Vice President J.D. Vance, whom he would later go on to advise.
Driscoll spent much of his professional career in venture capital and on the board of a medical staffing agency. His lack of experience in the military stands in stark contrast to most contemporary Army secretaries, who spent their careers in national security policy.
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