Pentagon Turmoil: Hegseth Pressed to Remove Col. Dave Butler, Sparking Fear Among Senior Military Leaders

Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pressed Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to abruptly remove Col. Dave Butler, the Army’s chief of public affairs — a move that, Griffin says, has contributed to a growing climate of "fear, uncertainty, and an unwillingness to speak up" among senior uniformed leaders.

Who Is Col. Dave Butler?

Butler served as the Army’s chief of public affairs and was a principal adviser to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. According to reporting, Butler had been nominated for promotion to brigadier general and appeared for two consecutive years on an Army promotion list of 34 officers. He has a long record in military communications, including assignments with Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), deployments alongside tiered special operations units attached to Delta Force (2010–2014), service as JSOC public affairs officer at Fort Bragg (2015–2018), and work as chief spokesman and director of communications for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan (2018–2019).

What Happened?

Griffin reports that while Driscoll was in Geneva with the U.S. negotiating team on Ukraine, Hegseth demanded last Thursday that Driscoll fire Butler. Driscoll, described in reporting as an ally of Vice President J.D. Vance, resisted Hegseth’s pressure for months because Butler was considered integral to the Army’s transformation and was slated for promotion. The promotion list has been stalled for nearly four months after Hegseth raised concerns about roughly four to five officers selected by the Army board. An Army official told Griffin that Butler volunteered to remove his name from consideration if it would help unblock promotions for others.

Wider Context and Reactions

Griffin’s article lists other senior officers who were removed or pushed into early retirement without public explanations, including Adm. Lisa Franchetti (then Chief of Naval Operations), Gen. C.Q. Brown (former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), Gen. James Mingus (vice chief of the Army), Gen. Douglas A. Sims (director of the Joint Staff), Gen. David Allvin (Air Force chief), Gen. James Slife (vice chief of the Air Force), and Gen. Timothy Haugh (director of the NSA).

The Washington Post’s Dan Lamothe corroborated Griffin’s reporting, describing Hegseth’s intervention as part of ongoing tensions with Driscoll and saying Hegseth had pressed for Butler’s removal at least once before. Lamothe noted that Hegseth opposed Butler’s promotion for reasons officials said remain unclear and suggested Butler’s prior work as the public affairs lead for Gen. Mark A. Milley — a figure frequently criticized by both President Trump and Hegseth — may be a factor.

Driscoll released a statement saying: "We greatly appreciate Col. Dave Butler’s lifetime of service in America’s Army and to our nation. Dave has been an integral part of the Army’s transformation efforts and I sincerely wish him tremendous success in his upcoming retirement after 28 years of service."

Implications

Reporters and observers say the pattern of abrupt personnel changes at the Pentagon and unexplained removals of senior officers has unsettled career military leaders and could undermine internal candor and morale. Mediaite originally published Griffin’s story; The Washington Post provided independent confirmation.

Sources: Jennifer Griffin (Fox News), Dan Lamothe (The Washington Post), Mediaite. This article summarizes and synthesizes those reports without adding unverified claims.