Externally, Mr Driscoll has avoided sticking his head above the parapet. Instead, he has got stuck into acquisition reform and learning lessons from the Ukraine war, which the former venture capitalist calls “the Silicon Valley of warfare”.
Internally, he is determined to shake up the Pentagon, and tells members of Congress he is a “mixture of a southern Baptist preacher and a jihadist who’s going to pull the temple down on all of our heads”.
The White House has noticed. Mr Driscoll was the figure selected to meet Mr Zelensky, the Ukraine president, on Thursday, presenting the 28-point plan Mr Trump hopes will lead to peace between Russia and Ukraine, and prompting speculation that he could succeed Mr Hegseth.
“Dan Driscoll is the opposite of Pete Hegseth – he’s serious, shrewd and has the confidence of the White House,” said a former senior White House official. “Dan’s a workhorse, not a showhorse, and puts a lot of lead on target for the president in everything he does.
“After a year of endless drama at the Pentagon, Dan’s brand of quiet and effective leadership is exactly what President Trump is looking for to get his important reform agenda back on track.”
A source told Politico: “There’s not a lot of trust in Hegseth to deliver these messages to key leaders… there is more trust in Dan to do that right now.”
