Senior army spokesperson ousted by Hegseth after

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to fire a senior navy advisor, nameless sources said. 

Sources said it was at least the second time within months that Hegseth raised considerations to Driscoll about Col. David Butler, the senior navy adviser who was fired under the Trump administration. Butler was most not too long ago a spokesperson and media strategist for Driscoll, and Gen. Randy George, the Army’s chief of employees, the Washington Post reported.

Butler was also nominated for promotion to brigadier common, a promotion that Hegseth wasn’t fond of, officers told the Post. The causes why Hegseth had points with Butler’s potential promotion stay unclear.

Butler’s identify was on a checklist with three dozen other promotion-eligible Army officers that ought to have been despatched to the White House for approval months back. But, after Hegseth’s order to Driscoll last week, Butler selected to submit his retirement paperwork, the sources told the outlet.

Driscoll told the Post in a assertion that Butler retired but declined to clarify the explanations for it.“We greatly appreciate Col. Dave Butler’s lifetime of service in America’s Army and to our nation,” the assertion said.

“Dave has been an integral part of the Army’s transformation efforts. He will be missed and I sincerely wish him tremendous success in his upcoming retirement after 28 years of service,” he added. Butler has yet to issue a public comment.

Butler previously worked as a senior spokesman for Gen. Mark A Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2019 to 2023. Officials note Butler’s surprise retirement might have happened because he worked for Milley, who has been a “political target” of President Donald Trump and Hengseth for years, the Post reported.

Supporters of Milley noted his significant role in guiding a nonpartisan military under Trump’s first term. Meanwhile, critics said Milley violated Trump’s trust by discussing the president’s behavior publicly.

Milley called Trump a fascist in a book by journalist Bob Woodward.“He is the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country. A fascist to the core,” Milley told Woodward for his ebook War.

Hegseth directed a suspension of Milley’s security clearance, revoked his security element last 12 months and ordered an investigation by a Pentagon inspector common of Milley’s past actions, the Post famous. Officials also famous that Milley’s portrait had been eliminated from the Pentagon. Milley was a senior navy advisor for practically three years under former President Joe Biden.