January 31, 2025

Duckworth Successfully Presses Secretary of the Army Nominee Driscoll to Pledge He Will Reject Unlawful Order from President Trump, Calls Out His Lack of Qualifications

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Yesterday, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee who served 23 years in the Reserve Forces—successfully pressed President Trump’s Secretary of the Army nominee Daniel Driscoll to pledge that he would refuse to obey an illegal order from President Trump, such as following through on the President’s dangerous freeze and withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in grants awarded to the Department of Army. Mr. Driscoll stated that he “would only follow lawful orders.” Duckworth’s full remarks can be found on the Senator’s YouTube.

“I was distinctly unimpressed and disappointed with the lack of preparation Mr. Driscoll brought to our personal meeting earlier this month and I had hoped that he would take the time to do his homework before today’s confirmation hearing,” said Duckworth. “While I remain dissatisfied by Mr. Driscoll’s utter lack of qualifications to lead an organization as big and complex as the Army, I hope, for the sake of our Soldiers, that his improved preparation for this hearing is a sign that he takes seriously the incredible responsibility inherent in being Secretary of the Army. We ask our troops to operate at the highest possible level and it would be an insult to our brave Soldiers to confirm someone who does not meet that same standard to lead them.”

Duckworth underscored her concerns with Mr. Driscoll’s lack of preparedness for their meeting ahead of the hearing and offered him another chance to prove his qualifications to lead the largest and most complex branch of our Defense. Duckworth pressed Mr. Driscoll to answer basic questions, including naming the components and elements of force posture. This comes after Duckworth also pressed Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth on his lack of qualifications during his confirmation hearing, in which he could not correctly name a single nation that is a part of ASEAN. Duckworth’s full remarks can be found on the Senator’s YouTube.

Duckworth is a proven leader and fierce advocate for our servicemembers, Veterans and their families. In the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that was signed into law, Duckworth secured several important provisions that support our servicemembers and their families, enhance strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, improve logistics to bolster readiness and energy resiliency as well as continue to restore American competitiveness. 

During Secretary Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, Duckworth demonstrated some of the areas where he lacks the experience or knowledge that a serious Defense Secretary nominee should have, grilling him on basic questions that he failed to answer. She asked him if he ever led an audit. He would not confirm. She asked him to describe at least one of the main international security agreements a Secretary of Defense is responsible for leading. He could not name any. She asked him to name at least one nation that is a part of ASEAN, an organization with several member states who have mutual defense treaties, alliances or enhanced defense cooperation agreements with the U.S. None of the three countries he named were correct.

Duckworth then delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor slamming Hegseth for his lack of experience and qualifications to lead the Department of Defense. Speaking next to a framed copy of the Soldier’s Creed—a copy that hangs over her desk in the Senate and hung above her bed during her recovery at Walter Reed Medical Center after the helicopter she co-piloted was shot down—Duckworth underscored that it is insulting to ask our servicemembers to train and perform to the absolute highest standards when the Senate confirms a Secretary of Defense who is wholly unprepared and unqualified to lead them in any way.

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