Axios: Hegseth’s Pentagon storm

Posted on September 2, 2026 by michelleclarke2015
Hegseth’s Pentagon storm
 
Photo illustration of U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth with the Pentagon in the background
Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Getty Images
 
The Pentagon has entered a period of profound institutional turmoil, as a crisis of leadership at home converges with a crisis of capacity abroad, Axios’ Zachary Basu writes.

Why it matters: Six months into the Iran war, Pete Hegseth presides over a Pentagon with fewer senior leaders, fewer critical weapons and less public accountability than at any point in President Trump’s two terms.

🔎 Zoom in: The most striking departure yet came Monday with the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll — Vice President Vance’s close friend and Yale Law classmate, once viewed as a potential successor to Hegseth himself.

Driscoll, a rising star tapped by Trump for sensitive diplomacy in Ukraine, is stepping down after months of clashes with Hegseth over the Army’s leadership and modernization.

Driscoll’s exit, following Hegseth’s firing of Army chief Gen. Randy George last spring, leaves the service without Senate-confirmed civilian or uniformed leadership in the midst of the Iran war.

🔭 Zoom out: Hegseth has fired or forced out senior officers across nearly every service, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Navy’s top admiral and the Army chief of staff.

The Washington Post counts more than two dozen top officers dismissed under Hegseth, who has remade nearly the entire Joint Chiefs. Only the Marine Corps and Space Force chiefs Hegseth inherited are still serving.

The New York Times reports that Hegseth has personally removed at least 45 officers from promotion lists this year — an extraordinary intervention in a system traditionally insulated from political leadership.

NBC News reported yesterday that Hegseth has blocked more promotions in recent weeks, including more than a dozen Black, Hispanic or female officers across the services.

👀 Between the lines: The cumulative effect is a thinner senior command at the precise moment the Iran war is testing the limits of what the U.S. military can sustain.

The WashPost reports that the commanders overseeing Europe, the Pacific and Latin America — along with the replacement top admiral — formally objected to extending forces for the Iran war. They warned that prolonged deployments are degrading their ability to confront threats elsewhere.

Adm. Daryl Caudle, chief of Naval Operations, told Hegseth that barely one-quarter of U.S. destroyers are ready to deploy, according to the Post.

The only dedicated Pacific carrier has also been diverted to the Middle East.

The war has consumed 65% of the U.S. Patriot interceptor inventory, squeezing supplies for NATO and forcing the Pentagon to preserve weapons that would also be critical in a war with China. (AP)

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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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