Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell is among at least four candidates being considered for the role of Army secretary, sources familiar with the process confirmed to The Hill.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has indicated Parnell as his top choice for the position, though the broader search remains open and actively contested within administration circles.
A senior administration official pushed back on reports of Parnell’s candidacy, stating that he is “100 percent focused on executing the job he has now.”
Parnell has nonetheless been in touch with the White House about the role in recent days, according to a Pentagon official who spoke this week.
The vacancy was created by former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s departure from the Trump administration, closing the book on an 18-month tenure marked by rapid modernization efforts and behind-the-scenes clashes with Hegseth.
Driscoll, a close ally of Vice President Vance, had pushed aggressively to modernize America’s largest fighting force before his exit brought renewed urgency to the succession question.
The Army now finds itself without a Senate-confirmed leader on either the civilian or uniformed side, after Hegseth in April forced out the Army’s widely respected chief of staff, Gen. Randy George.
Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), an Army veteran who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is also among the candidates being considered for the secretary role, sources said.
Derrick Anderson, currently Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict and a former GOP congressional candidate in Virginia, is another name in the mix, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
Marc Anderson, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller who has held multiple executive leadership roles within venture capital, is also being mentioned as a potential successor to Driscoll.
NBC News reported that Sam Brown, the undersecretary for memorial affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, is being floated by some in Congress and within the administration as a possible replacement, despite having twice run unsuccessfully for Senate in Nevada.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is leading the search for Driscoll’s permanent replacement, sources told CBS News, signaling that the decision will carry significant weight at the highest levels of the administration.
The White House, when reached for comment, referred reporters to a Truth Social post from President Trump announcing Telle as acting Army secretary while the search continues.
