There is no Army Secretary currently serving.
Posted by The Daily Beast Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 5 contradict1 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
The Daily Beast PodcastSep 8, 2026
On 2026-09-08 the Army was not without a secretary: Trump designated Adam Telle as Acting Secretary of the Army on September 3, 2026, after Dan Driscoll's resignation, and official Army and Reuters sources confirm Telle was serving in that role.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Yeah, it's one of those moments that future school children, all being well, will learn about in the history books. I mean, it's, it's literally things are start, are not working. There's no Army Secretary. There's no Chief of Staff to the Army Secretary. It's a vacuum at the head of, of the Army. It, it beggars belief. Well, you know, Push up Pete and Kernel Vodka, we can just, let's, let's just, just begin to listen. …
The Daily Beast Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Reuters reports that Trump appointed Adam Telle as acting U.S. Army Secretary on September 3, 2026, after Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation.[1][3]
Contradicts. The official Army leadership page lists Adam R. Telle as Acting Secretary of the Army, designated by President Trump on September 3, 2026, with responsibility for the Army's operations and resources.[4]
Contradicts. The Army Secretariat roster published September 16, 2026 and the Wikipedia succession list both show Telle as acting Secretary from September 3, 2026, with no vacancy in the office.[5][6]
Supports. Dan Driscoll stepped down after 18 months, and Telle was only in an acting capacity, with no nominee for a permanent secretary reported, which partly explains the post's 'vacuum' framing but does not mean no one was serving.[2][3]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 4 not rated
- 1Trump appoints Adam Telle as acting US Army Secretaryreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping downapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Trump names Adam Telle acting Army secretary after Driscoll resignationwashingtonexaminer.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 4Secretaryarmy.mil · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5United States Secretary of the Army - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6Army Secretariat Secretary of the Army HON Adam R. Telle ...api.army.mil · not rated · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- There is currently no Army Secretary and no Chief of Staff to the Army Secretary.Mixed
- There is no Chief of Staff to the Army Secretary currently serving.Can’t tell
- The U.S. Army currently lacks a Senate-confirmed leader.True
- Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has resigned.True
- Donald Trump named Adam Tell as acting Army secretary following the resignation of Dan Driscoll.True