Gen George's ouster looms large over Driscoll hearing |
Gen George’s ouster looms large over Driscoll hearing
Defense &National Security
Defense &National Security
Gen George’s ouster looms large over Driscoll hearing
Lawmakers from both sides questioned Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and the Army’s acting chief of staff, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, over the removal of the Army’s well-respected chief of staff, Gen. Randy George.
Lawmakers from both sides grilled Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and the Army’s acting chief of staff, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, over the recent firing of the Army’s well-respected chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, during the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Thursday.
While lawmakers asked about the U.S. war against Iran, the state of munition stockpiles and various Army programs, President Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget request, lawmakers in both parties questioned Driscoll and LaNeve about the early April ouster of George.
“I just want the record to reflect how much we regret — I personally regret, at least — he’s no longer in active service. He’s a real loss to us, in my opinion,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said Thursday.
Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) said he had very high confidence in George’s leadership, a senior military official who spent more than four decades in the Army and was ousted at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“When you collectively — the president, the secretary and yourself — decide to summarily fire the chief of staff of the Army — publicly, overtly, I would even say humiliatingly and cruelly — without any offer, apparently, of a graceful exit, you at least owe Congress, the public, and, I think most importantly, the soldiers some explanation, which you did not do,” Case told Driscoll.
When asked about George’s removal, which was reported on April, Driscoll, lauded the ex-Army chief of staff, but added that civilian officials “get to pick the leaders that they want.” “I was in North Carolina when Gen. George was asked to put in his resignation paperwork, with my family for my kids’ spring break. When we drove back from North Carolina, I drove straight to Gen. George’s house, we walked right in, and we all gave him a hug,” Driscoll said during the hearing. “There is no person that has more respect for Gen. George … he was an amazing, transformational leader,” Driscoll said. “That being said, the civilian leadership, the design of our system, is that they get to pick the leaders that they want, and we execute on those orders.”
Apart from George’s removal, Driscoll and LaNeve were asked about the Army’s aviation programs, the state of the defense industrial base and the service’s push to bolster U.S. military drone capability.
Read the full report at thehill.com.
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