Senators question NC native Driscoll on Trump, BBQ and how he’s qualified to lead the Army
North Carolina’s most keen political observers may remember his name.
Pentagon officials are asking who he is.
Among President Donald Trump’s many cabinet nominees is Dan Driscoll, 38, of Winston-Salem. He faced the Senate Committee on Armed Services Thursday regarding his nomination to serve as secretary of the Army.
If confirmed, his profile will become much greater.
Driscoll served in the Army as a cavalry scout platoon leader, leaving after less than four years of service with the rank of first lieutenant.
His political background is limited, though he unsuccessfully ran in a 2020 Republican primary, one of many eager to replace Rep. Mark Meadows, who became Trump’s chief of staff.
But Driscoll was a schoolmate of Vice President JD Vance. They attended Yale Law School together.
Driscoll’s relationship to Vance seems important in Trump World, the name political insiders give to the people in the president’s close orbit. Trump mentioned that link when he announced Driscoll’s nomination on social media.
On Thursday, Driscoll had to defend Trump picking him by demonstrating his knowledge of the Army and how he would lead a military branch that has a requested $185.9 billion budget and employs more than 1.2 million people.
“It’s the honor of my life to be given the opportunity to earn your trust and continue my service to our great nation,” Driscoll told the senators.
Who is Dan Driscoll?
Driscoll was raised in Banner Elk, the same community where Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican, lives.
He attended Watauga High School, where he met his wife, and graduated, in 2007, from UNC-Chapel Hill, within three years, with a degree in business administration.
From there he joined the U.S. Army where he served from 2007-2011. He was deployed to Iraq in 2009.
Driscoll told the committee he is a third-generation soldier whose father and grandfather also served in the United States military. His 8-year-old son plans to join the military as well, he said..
“The committee is grateful to your family’s military service and for your willingness to continue serving your country,” said Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island.
Vance and Driscoll
After Driscoll’s military service, he he enrolled in law school in 2011, on a G.I. bill.
In August 2024, Driscoll spoke to PBS’ Frontline about his friendship with Vance to offer insights into Vance’s path from Yale to being Trump’s pick as a running mate.
Driscoll said he and Vance met at a group Vance ran called, Yale Veterans Association. There were three to four members in the group and it was there that he and Vance formed a friendship.
That friendship lasted outside the ivy league’s halls.
Just six years after leaving Yale, Driscoll in 2020 tried to become a Republican candidate for Congress in North Carolina. Vance, not yet a U.S. senator, donated $500 to Driscoll’s campaign.
Eleven people ran in that Republican primary to represent North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. Driscoll, who lived outside the district, came in sixth place.
Lynda Bennett, a family friend of Meadows, placed first but without enough votes to stop second-place winner Madison Cawthorn from asking for a runoff. Cawthorn won, launching him to just one term in Congress that was marked by a series of scandals.
Driscoll worked as a venture capitalist and in private equity at companies in North Carolina before becoming a senior advisor to Vance, Trump said in his sparse nomination announcement.
Driscoll would serve as “a disruptor and change agent,” the president promised.
A mixed reception
Despite Driscoll’s lack of experience, he faced little push-back from the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Sen. Ted Budd, a Republican from Davie County, serves on the committee.
During the hearing, Budd went protective, advising Driscoll not to answer the chairman’s question about his favorite type of barbecue, but he did so anyways.
“So as someone from western North Carolina, senator, my heart bleeds for the thick ketchup-based barbecue that I grew up with, but I can concede that Lexington barbecue is exceptional,” Driscoll said.
But the majority of the hearing was serious in tone, with members asking very specific questions about Driscoll’s experience, plans for the Army and potential investigations into the crash of an Army Black Hawk helicopter into a commercial jet, killing 67 people outside Washington D.C., just over 12 hours prior.
Reed reminded Driscoll that what was being asked of him, if confirmed, was “no small task.”
He said Driscoll would be coming into the job as the military overhauls it’s major weapons systems, looks to transform the structure and organization of its Brigade Combat Teams to equip them with “cutting edge technology” to be “more mobile and lethal,” and dealing with rapidly evolving technologies such as unmanned drone defenses and communications.
He also reminded Driscoll that the Army’s budget is “flat,” while there are numerous deployments around the world.
And Reed voiced concerns about Trump’s plans to use the military domestically to stop migrants from crossing the southern border.
“I am concerned the administration’s orders to significantly increase military support to domestic law enforcement, particularly on the southwestern border, will harm the Army’s readiness,” Reed told Driscoll, before adding that he supports a large increase to budget of the Department of Homeland Security.
Driscoll calmly answered questions and concerns from various senators, sometimes being complimented for his responses.
Some strong skepticism
Driscoll didn’t escape the hearing without some overt opposition.
That came from Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois.
Duckworth began her exchange with Driscoll asking him about Trump’s plan to implement a now-rescinded funding freeze on federal grants and loans. Trump’s order, issued a day prior, faced so much backlash and uncertainty that Trump would have to walk it back before Driscoll came before the committee.
She asked Driscoll what his position was on the legality of the order.
“I haven’t been able to take a deep enough look to know whether it was legal or not, but I would not believe that the president could issue an illegal order,” he answered.
Duckworth made clear she was confounded, repeating his answer.
“If President Trump directed you to do something illegal, would you refuse to obey,” she immediately asked.
Driscoll said he rejected the premise of the question, but he would “only follow lawful orders.”
She told Driscoll she believed he “performed poorly” when he met with her one-on-one, saying he was unable to answer questions like how many Army personnel were in a division or a name of a country in Africa where the United States has troops.
And she criticized him for not being able, during the hearing, to name the elements of forced posture, which she told him was military disposition, strength, condition and readiness.
But she did give him some credit “for doing his homework” after their meeting and said she was impressed by his ability to answer some of her colleagues’ questions Thursday.
Following the hearing, the committee must now decide whether they approve of Driscoll’s nomination.
If approved, which seems likely, his nomination will go before the entire Senate, led by a Republican majority, for a final vote.
This story was originally published February 1, 2025 at 8:00 AM.
