WASHINGTON (TNND) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly ordered Army Secretary Dan Driscoll last week to remove Col. David “Dave” Butler, a spokesperson and one of his top advisers, in another shakeup among senior military officers at the Pentagon.
Driscoll, who is in Switzerland as part of the U.S. delegation to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, told Fox News in a statement that Butler “has been an integral part of the Army’s transformation efforts” and wished him the best in his upcoming retirement after 28 years of service.
Butler was slated to receive his first star and was among 30 Army officers in line for promotion, but he removed his name and submitted his retirement paperwork, making room for others to be promoted, according to multiple outlets.
Since taking leadership at the Pentagon in 2025, Hegseth has removed several senior military leaders, including Gen. Charles Q. “CQ” Brown Jr., who was chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who was the chief of naval operations, and Adm. Alvin Holsey, former head of U.S. Southern Command.
Three former senior advisers were ousted in April after an investigation into information leaks.
Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Hegseth, Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, and Darin Selnick, Hegseth’s deputy chief of staff, called the claims “baseless attacks” and accused Pentagon officials of slandering their character.
Butler held several high-profile roles, including chief public affairs officer for U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. and NATO spokesperson in Afghanistan, and senior spokesperson for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley.
He later became the Army’s senior communications adviser and chief public affairs officer, advising the Army secretary and chief of staff on messaging related to operations, modernization, and force transformation.
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