Hegseth Orders Removal Of Col. Dave Butler Amid Army Promotion Disputes
In a move that underscores ongoing leadership changes at the Pentagon under President Donald J. Trump’s second term, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the removal of Col. Dave Butler from his role as chief of Army public affairs and senior adviser to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, according to Fox News.
Driscoll is currently in Geneva as part of the U.S. negotiating team working to end the war in Ukraine. The directive from Hegseth reportedly came Thursday.
Butler, a longtime Army public affairs officer, previously served as head of public affairs for the Joint Chiefs of Staff when Gen. Mark Milley was chairman. He had been selected for promotion to brigadier general — his first star — appearing for two consecutive years on a list of 34 officers chosen for advancement. That promotion list has been stalled for nearly four months.
According to reports, Hegseth has concerns about four to five officers included on the Army promotion board’s list. By law, he cannot simply remove officers from consideration. An Army official said Butler volunteered to withdraw his own name from the list if doing so would allow the remaining promotions to proceed.
Driscoll, an Army veteran and close ally of Vice President J. D. Vance — the two attended Yale Law School together — had reportedly resisted calls for months to remove Butler, citing his work on modernization and transformation efforts within the service.
“We greatly appreciate COL Dave Butler’s lifetime of service in America’s Army and to our nation,” Driscoll said in a statement.
“Dave has been an integral part of the Army’s transformation efforts, and I sincerely wish him tremendous success in his upcoming retirement after 28 years of service.”
Butler traveled with Driscoll to Ukraine in November 2025 to assist in restarting negotiations tied to the ongoing conflict.
Since taking over at the Pentagon in 2025, Hegseth has overseen the departure of several senior military leaders, moves that supporters describe as part of a broader effort to realign the armed forces with constitutional priorities, warfighting readiness, and civilian control of the military.
Among those who have left their posts are Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who served as chief of naval operations; Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. James Mingus, vice chief of the Army; and Gen. Douglas A. Sims, director of the Joint Staff.
Also departing were Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin and Gen. James Slife, vice chief of the Air Force, along with Gen. Timothy Haugh, who had been serving as director of the National Security Agency.
While critics have suggested the changes have generated uncertainty among some senior officers, allies of the administration argue that decisive leadership adjustments are sometimes necessary to restore accountability and refocus the military on its core mission: defending the nation.
Butler himself has long been regarded as a highly capable communicator within the Army. He served alongside U.S. special operations forces during overseas missions and was attached to Delta Force from 2010 to 2014. He later worked as public affairs officer for Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and served under Gen. Scott Miller when Miller led the command.
At Miller’s request, Butler deployed to Afghanistan from 2018 to 2019, serving as chief spokesman and director of communications for U.S. and NATO forces while Miller was the top four-star general in theater.
A former four-star commander who led U.S. Special Operations Command praised Butler’s performance in unambiguous terms:
“He was the consummate professional, the most competent Public Affairs officer I have ever worked with and a gifted practitioner of strategic communications.”
In 2025, during the Army’s 250th birthday celebration, President Donald J. Trump personally recognized Butler by name for helping organize the parade in Washington, D.C., highlighting his behind-the-scenes contributions to a milestone event honoring America’s fighting force.
The latest personnel move reflects the broader reshaping of Pentagon leadership during President Trump’s second term — a period marked by an emphasis on merit, readiness, and restoring confidence in the chain of command as global tensions remain high.