Army Secretary Dan Driscoll's resignation was announced Monday after months of disputes with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Charlie D'Agata reports.
Page A13From§Eachthe coffee break edition — 1 September 2026
Pentagon earns 35% stake in Venezuelan oil after Army Secretary resigns for unrelated reasons
Welcome to the new normal, where the Pentagon takes a 35% equity stake in a Venezuelan oil company, and the Army Secretary resigns after a clash with Hegseth. More high-profile exits are coming, and the resignation was handed directly to Trump. If you want to draw a line between the Pentagon's sudden business interests and the revolving door at the top of the Army, you won't find anyone in the room admitting it. But the receipts are clear: the military's business portfolio expands just as its leadership thins, and the White House treats both as routine paperwork. For those watching closely, the sequence tells you power is shifting hands—and the ones who notice, or raise a hand, get shuffled out. In lieu of flowers, keep an eye on your utility bill.
“They say the Pentagon's just investing in oil companies now, and the Army Secretary walks out the door. The same week, the White House handles both like routine business. That's not a coincidence: power moves, the people who notice get moved out.”
“There's absolutely no connection between strategic resource management and personnel changes. It's just good governance, and sometimes people choose to resign for personal reasons, not because of anything the administration is doing. I mean, there's nothing to see here—I'm sure that's true.”
The receipts
The Trump administration has confirmed it will be taking a 35% equity stake in a new oil company that will drill across more than a dozen oil fields in Venezuela. On Monday night, the White House published new details of the deal, first announced by President Donald Trump late last week, revealing that the U.S. […]
The Defense Department’s Office of Strategic Capital, founded by the Biden administration to give loans to bolster the U.S. defense industry, is helping lead President Trump’s oil deal.
Amy Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned after months of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. CBS News' Charlie D'Agata has more on tensions inside the Pentagon.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation directly to President Trump after months of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. CBS News' Olivia Rinaldi has more.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.