President Donald Trump has appointed Adam Telle as the temporary replacement for Dan Driscoll as Army's top civilian leader following Driscoll's abrupt resignation earlier in the week. According to his biography, Telle has been the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works since last August and has overseen the Army Corps of Engineers. Hegseth praised Trump's announcement, calling Telle "strong and whip smart." Telle will take over at a tumultuous time, with ongoing conflict in Iran and recent upheaval within the Department of Defense, which has seen about 20 leaders ousted or resign since Hegseth took over.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
President Donald Trump has named Adam Telle, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, as the acting Army Secretary following the abrupt resignation of Dan Driscoll. Telle was sworn into his current role in August 2023 and has overseen the Army Corps of Engineers since then. He will be overseeing the country's largest fighting force at a time when the US is still engaged in conflict with Iran and significant army forces are stationed in the Middle East. Telle has a background in government, having worked for several lawmakers, including Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and spent 18 months working in the White House during Trump's first term. The transition comes as there have been reports of tensions between Driscoll and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Written for “Trump's Acting Army Secretary” on 2026-09-05,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.15, but none of the 1 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 3948: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-04
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Adam Telle, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, will temporarily replace Dan Driscoll as the Army’s top civilian leader following Driscoll’s abrupt resignation from the role earlier this week.
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Telle → announce → role
Hegseth praised Trump’s announcement on Thursday, calling Telle “strong and whip smart.”
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Hegseth → praise → Telle
“Huge congrats to Adam,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “He is indeed a great Patriot — and will be an immediate asset to the @USArmy.”
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He → say → @USArmy
Telle has overseen the Army Corps of Engineers since last year
Telle was sworn into his current role as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works last August, becoming the second person nominated by the President to an Army position in Trump's second term to be confirmed by the Senate, according to Telle's biography on the U.S. military’s website.
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Telle → oversee → website
In that position, Telle has served as a civilian official in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, an agency that builds and maintains infrastructure, including dams.
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that → serve → dams
According to his bio, he has had “principal authority to establish policy direction and to provide supervision of all aspects” of the civil works tasks that the agency performs for the Army, including projects aimed at reducing flood and storm damage.
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agency → accord → damage
Telle previously worked under multiple Republican senators
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Telle → work → senators
Before being appointed to his current role in the Trump Administration, Telle served as the chief of staff to Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee from 2021-2025, according to Legistorm.
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Telle → appoint → Legistorm
He previously worked under another Republican, then-Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, for about a decade from 2007-2017, and held various roles in the office, including deputy chief of staff and legislative director, according to Legistorm.
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He → work → Legistorm
While serving in Cochran’s office, he helped with the lawmaker’s work on Hurricane Katrina recovery, according to his Army bio.
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he → serve → bio
Telle also served on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee that was responsible for overseeing the Department of Homeland Security’s budget, according to his bio.
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that → serve → bio
Telle served in the first Trump Administration
During Trump’s first term in the Oval Office, Telle served on the White House Office of Legislative Affairs’ Senate team and “was President Trump’s chief liaison to the Senate,” according to his Army bio.
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Telle → serve → bio
Telle will take over as acting Army Secretary at a tumultuous time
Telle will step into his new role in the Army at a time of turmoil both abroad and within the Department of Defense.
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Telle → take → Defense
The war in Iran, which began on Feb. 28, has now stretched on for longer than six months and has sparked backlash from many Americans.
And Telle will also be taking on the new position amid upheaval within the U.S. military’s senior ranks.
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Telle → begin → ranks
About 20 military and civilian leaders have been ousted or have resigned since Hegseth took over the Department of Defense, including Driscoll earlier this week.
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Hegseth → oust → Driscoll
Even some Republicans have criticized Hegseth for the chaos at the agency, including Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who has called on Trump to replace the Defense Secretary.
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who → criticize → Secretary
“[Hegseth] is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks,” Tillis said in a social media post this week.
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Tillis → create → post
“I urge the President to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it.”
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who → urge → it
