What happened
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to fire senior military adviser and chief public affairs official Col. David Butler, news organizations reported Tuesday. Driscoll thanked Butler for his “lifetime of service in America’s Army and to our nation” but did not address the reason for his “upcoming retirement.” Separately, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin Tuesday said she was resigning after a year tenaciously defending President Donald Trump’s increasingly unpopular immigration crackdown.
Who said what
Butler was “one of the Army’s best communicators,” Fox News said, and Driscoll “had resisted Hegseth’s pressure to fire” him for months. It is “unusual for a defense secretary to weigh in on the firing of an Army spokesman,” The New York Times said. Hegseth blamed Butler for “news articles late last year that compared him unfavorably” to Driscoll, a close friend of Vice President JD Vance, but the defense secretary has also “made no secret of his hatred” for Butler’s former boss, Gen. Mark Milley.
Butler’s “previous work as the senior spokesman” for Milley “appears to be a factor in his removal,” The Washington Post said, citing inside sources. But Hegseth also “takes issue with Driscoll’s rising profile and increasing responsibilities within the Trump administration,” and the firing is part of their “latest clash.” Hegseth had blocked dozens of Army promotions for months, and Butler, nominated for brigadier general, “elected to submit his retirement paperwork rather than hold up his colleagues’ promotions,” the Post said. “Current and former defense officials expressed astonishment at Butler’s ouster.”
What next?
McLaughlin is “leaving DHS next week,” Politico said, and will be replaced by her deputy, Lauren Bis, and new hire Katie Zacharia, a frequent Fox News guest.
Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
