Trump Names Northport Native Acting Secretary of the Army

A Northport native is now the civilian leader of the United States Army after President Donald Trump named Adam R. Telle acting secretary of the Army on Thursday.

Telle is being promoted from his post overseeing the Army Corps of Engineers' Civil Works program, and the appointment took effect immediately.

Telle grew up in Northport and has spent more than two decades in Washington, most of it working for Republican senators.

He was sworn in as the 14th assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works in August 2025, after being nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate.

In that role, he set policy for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on commercial navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, and permitting under the Clean Water Act.

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Alabama Sen. Katie Britt praised the appointment on social media.

"Congratulations to my friend and Northport, Alabama, native Adam Telle on being named Acting Secretary of the Army! I've been proud to work with Adam to strengthen Alabama's critical waterways and infrastructure, including securing important investments for Mobile Bay," she wrote.

Before the Civil Works job, Telle was chief of staff to Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. During Trump's first term, he ran the Senate team in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, serving as the president's chief liaison to the Senate.

He also worked as the top staffer on the Senate Appropriations Committee's homeland security subcommittee and spent 10 years in the office of the late Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi as deputy chief of staff, legislative director, and lead national security aide. His Army biography credits him with leading Cochran's work on Hurricane Katrina recovery, water resources legislation and flood insurance.

Telle holds degrees in computer science and communication from Mississippi State University, where his bio notes he was elected student body president. He is married with two children.

Telle replaces Dan Driscoll, who resigned this week after 18 months in the role amid widely reported friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Driscoll's last official day was Wednesday, and he gave no public explanation for leaving.

Announcing the appointment on Truth Social, Trump called Telle "a great patriot, who is respected by all."

Hegseth offered his own congratulations on X, calling Telle sharp and predicting he would be an immediate asset to the Army.

Acting service secretaries frequently hold the post only briefly, and the appointment does not necessarily signal who Trump will eventually nominate for the permanent job.

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