President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that Adam Telle, who is currently helping oversee the Army Corps of Engineers, will serve as acting Army secretary.
Telle was a former longtime staffer and top adviser for the late U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, and helped lead federal efforts for the state’s recovery after Hurricane Katrina. More recently, Telle has been influential in advancing the Yazoo Backwater Area Water Management Project, or the “Yazoo pumps,” in the Mississippi Delta.
“I am pleased to announce that Adam Telle, the current Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, will become Acting Secretary of the Army, effective immediately,” Trump wrote on social media. “He is a Great Patriot, who is respected by all.”
Telle also served as the White House’s liaison to the Senate in the first Trump administration.
Telle, who worked for U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama before joining Cochran’s staff, is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where he was elected student body president.
Gov. Tate Reeves on Friday called Telle’s appointment “a tremendous choice.”
“Adam has been a great friend to Mississippi over the years and has done a lot for our state,” Reeves wrote. “And it’s hard to go wrong with a Mississippi State University grad!”
Telle takes over for Dan Driscoll, who resigned recently. Driscoll gave no reason for his resignation, but there have been numerous reports that he clashed with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Trump has not said whom he will nominate for the job on a permanent basis. Hegseth on Friday praised Trump’s choice of Telle.
