NBC reports four candidates for Army Secretary injured after conflict with Secretary Hegseth

NBC "Spokesperson for the Department of Defense, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, CFO of the Army, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs"

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Jeong-gyu Hong = NBC reported on the 4th (local time) that four candidates have emerged to replace former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who resigned due to conflict with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

According to people familiar with the selection process, the candidates include Army Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mark Anderson, Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell, Representative Brian Mast (R-Florida), and Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sam Brown.

In the case of CFO Anderson, although he has no military service experience, he is the right person to solve the Army's financial problems, and is being mentioned as being expected to have an amicable relationship with Secretary Hegseth and both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Chief Spokesperson Parnell is known to be the person whom Secretary Hegseth most supports as the successor to the Secretary of the Army. He left the Army after serving in Afghanistan. There have been conflicts with the media, including orders to evict reporters.

Rep. Mast is noteworthy because he is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a war veteran who had both legs amputated. Sources said that he is a person that President Donald Trump would prefer due to his pro-Israel tendencies.

Deputy Minister Brown is also a war veteran who graduated from West Point (US Military Academy), and his name is being discussed among some authorities.

It is unclear when President Trump will nominate a formal successor. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement, "The President will announce his nominee for the next Secretary of the Army at a time and place of his choosing," drawing a line on speculation about the appointment.

President Trump announced through social media TruthSocial that he had appointed Adam Tell, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Engineering, to the Acting Secretary of the Army, a position left vacant by the resignation of former Secretary Driscoll the day before.

Acting Secretary Tell is currently in charge of the Army's civil engineering program, including the Corps of Engineers project. He worked as an aide to a Republican senator for more than 20 years, and served as a representative for the Senate at the White House during President Trump's first term. There is no military service experience.