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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth favors Sean Parnell to become the next Army secretary, according to two former Pentagon officials, but the Pentagon spokesperson would probably face a tough path to Senate confirmation.
Hegseth is considering Parnell to succeed Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who is reportedly weighing a departure from the Pentagon in the coming weeks. The former officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, confirmed a report in The Hill that Parnell is short-listed for the role.
Parnell is a decorated Afghanistan veteran, former congressional candidate and trusted Hegseth adviser, but his partisan political profile, combative posture toward the press and past domestic abuse allegations — which he denies — could complicate any confirmation effort.
“It would be a difficult confirmation process, and you’d have to want to volunteer to have that all gone through in the public,” a third former Pentagon official said. “You’re going to revisit all of that.”
Although Parnell could face a confirmation fight, President Donald Trump could skirt the issue by designating him as the acting secretary. Under the Federal Vacancies Act, Parnell could serve for 210 days from when the job became vacant, but he could not serve as acting secretary if Trump nominated him for the permanent job.
Army Undersecretary Mike Obadal and Army Comptroller Marc Andersen have also surfaced as possible successors. Obadal, a respected former special operations officer who worked as a defense industry executive before joining the Trump administration last year, does not appear to be campaigning to become secretary, one of the former officials said. Obadal declined to comment.
Obadal would face his own confirmation hurdle. Federal law bars anyone from serving as Army secretary within five years of leaving active duty, but Obadal exited the military in 2022, so he would need Congress to approve a waiver.
Andersen, the assistant secretary of the Army for financial management, is less well known outside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, which makes any potential confirmation dynamics tough to predict.
Parnell floated his own name in the past year, according to one of the former officials. In response to a request to the Pentagon for comment, however, a senior administration official provided a brief statement: “Sean Parnell is 100% focused on the job he was appointed to by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth.”
The deliberations come as Driscoll considers leaving the administration after a monthslong struggle with Hegseth. Media reports suggest he could depart soon — one of the former officials said it could be around Labor Day — though his exit date would hinge on White House approval.
Parnell has served as the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson for most of President Donald Trump’s second term and is a senior adviser to Hegseth. He also chairs the administration’s review of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The former officials said Parnell would face significant resistance in the Senate. Some Republicans could be reluctant to support him, and his prospects would worsen sharply if Democrats win control of the chamber in the November midterms.
Critics say Parnell is highly partisan and too closely aligned with Hegseth. One former official pointed to Parnell’s adversarial posture toward members of the media and criticism that the Afghanistan review he is leading is one-sided.
Parnell twice sought federal office in Pennsylvania. He lost a 2020 House race to Democrat Conor Lamb andwithdrew from the 2022 Republican Senate primary after losing a child-custody fight. During divorce proceedings, Parnell’s estranged wife alleged she endured years of rage and abuse from him, including being choked — charges he called “baseless” at the time.
Otherwise, Obadal, the Army’s Senate-confirmed No. 2 civilian official, would typically be in line to perform the secretary’s duties if Driscoll leaves.