From 'The Conversation': Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on transforming the armed forces
Dan Driscoll made history earlier this year when, at 38, he was sworn in as the youngest Army secretary in U.S. history.
And he just made news again this week when he became the highest-level Trump administration official to visit Kyiv for the White House’s secret peace talks in effort to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. Driscoll joined high-level talks with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as news broke about a potential peace deal on the horizon.
Driscoll is a veteran of the Iraq War, and as a result, has felt the effects of Pentagon decisions firsthand. He’s set out to reshape the U.S. Army and the Pentagon into an agile institution that can make better use of existing resources and channel the best practices of the private sector.
“When you are creating defensive and offensive solutions, you have to think even 10 years out when the war really gets to its most catastrophic moment, ‘What are the very basic tools of warfare that can't be impacted by the enemy,” Driscoll said.
In this week’s episode of The Conversation, Driscoll sits down with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns to delve into the future of warfare, his plans for reinvigorating the Army’s technology and the innovation spurred by conflict.
“I think the best guess is if the United States entered a conflict with a peer in a couple of years, it would be a hybrid war where nearly every human being on the battlefield would be empowered and enabled with a digital tool,” Driscoll said. “I think we believe every infantryman in the United States Army will carry a drone with them into battle.”
CNN "NewsNight" host Abby Phillip also joined Dasha to chat about her new book, “A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power,” Jackson’s influence on today’s political landscape and Phillip’s approach to her own roundtable show.
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Mr. Mamdani goes to Washington
This afternoon, two politicians who embody diametrically opposite facets of New York City — President Donald Trump and NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — will meet in Washington. Despite their myriad differences, both Trump and Mamdani are presently focused on the same issue: affordability. It’s a topic both men hinged their campaigns on. But will they be able to find any common ground? Playbook’s Adam Wren and New York Playbook co-author Nick Reisman walk through what they’re watching. Plus, exclusive reporting on the man at the center of Indiana’s redistricting resistance, and Barack Obama’s new role as mentor-in-chief.
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Trump’s teetering economic message
Despite his continued insistence that cost-of-living concerns aren’t a problem, President Donald Trump is confronting subpar stats on the U.S. economy, as evidenced in the data and lived reality for Americans. The September jobs report that was delayed due to the government shutdown is expected to arrive today as fresh Fox News polling shows that more than three quarters of Americans view the economy unfavorably. Trump — and 2026 candidates up and down the ballot on both sides of the aisle — are reckoning with a sour economic state. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns break it all down.
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Bracing for breakthrough on Russia-Ukraine war
There appears to be some progress toward an end to the Russia-Ukraine war after months of start-and-stop talks between President Donald Trump and top-level negotiators. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is reportedly traveling to Ukraine today with two high-ranking military officials for urgent talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, armed with the early stages of a plan to bring the conflict to a resolution. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns break down what we know, and what to expect next.
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Trump’s messaging maelstrom
Two big things are happening in Washington today, and each involves a separate controversial figure. On Capitol Hill, the House is set to vote on closely watched legislation to release the files from the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It is far from the first time Epstein has been at the center of activity on the Hill, but President Donald Trump’s U-turn to encourage Republicans to vote for the release has taken much of the drama out. At the White House, Trump will welcome Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the first time since the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns walk through what to expect, plus Trump’s latest affordability pitch.
POLITICO’s Jack Blanchard and Dasha Burns bring their fresh insight, analysis and reporting to the biggest story driving the day in the nation’s capital.
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