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Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation to the White House on Monday, capping months of disagreements with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the firing of senior officers and the direction of the service, Paul McLeary, Dasha Burns, and Jack Detsch [ [link removed] ]report at Politico [ [link removed] ].
Driscoll, a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, spoke with the president on Monday and raised concerns about the Army’s trajectory, according to the article. The tensions between Driscoll and Hegseth centered on efforts to modernize the service and on Hegseth’s removal of key officers, including former Army chief Gen. Randy George.
Driscoll had told confidants for months that he planned to leave the Pentagon around the midterm elections, but his exit landed as the Pentagon managed an extended war in the Middle East and a shortage of Senate confirmed senior leaders, the authors explained.
Dave Fitzgerald, the Army’s deputy undersecretary and a partner in Driscoll’s push to draw private equity investment into military modernization, is expected to depart the Pentagon within the week as well. Hegseth has already relieved dozens of officials who championed similar initiatives, including Army Vice Chief James Mingus and US Army Europe and Africa commander Gen. Christopher Donahue. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, elevated by Hegseth in a surprise move from a command post in South Korea, now holds both the vice chief and chief of staff roles on an acting basis and recently halted a joint drone warfare training program between US and Ukrainian troops.
A former defense official close to the modernization push offered a blunt assessment of what Driscoll’s departure means for the effort: “If Driscoll and George’s modernization effort wasn’t dead on arrival, it’s likely dead now.”
The departures leave the Army led by an acting general and an acting civilian official just as Congress is weighing major new investments in munitions, personnel, and equipment.
If You Read One More Thing: The IRS as a Weapon
At The American Prospect, Robert Kuttner [ [link removed] ]writes [ [link removed] ] that the Trump administration plans to strip tax exemptions from several liberal nonprofits, according to a leak to the New York Post.
Kuttner claims the effort is blatantly illegal, since the president lacks authority to direct IRS audits, but argues the threat alone could intimidate major foundations into caution.
Kuttner explains that federal law requires the IRS to complete a lengthy audit and appeals process before any nonprofit could lose its 501(c)(3) status, and that organizations keep their exemption throughout that process.
Named targets include the Open Society Foundations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, MediaJustice, and the SEIU.
A 1998 law bars the White House from directing the IRS to audit or investigate specific taxpayers.
Kuttner notes that comparable right-wing groups, including the Heritage Foundation, face no similar scrutiny.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, once employed by Soros’s hedge fund, is leading the administration’s effort.
Elbit’s Secret Drone Program Armed Uganda’s Security Services
At Drop Site News, Murtaza Hussain [ [link removed] ]unveils [ [link removed] ] leaked internal documents that reveal a years-long program by Israeli weapons maker Elbit Systems to supply Uganda’s military with an expanding fleet of Hermes surveillance drones and advanced surveillance systems. The revelation comes as Uganda prepares to send troops to a Gaza “stabilization force.” A September 2021 pricing sheet outlined a $16.1 million package for two new Hermes 900 aircraft plus maintenance and training support.
The records show Elbit signed a $52.1 million deal in March 2024 for four Hermes 900 aircraft, part of a relationship that also includes loitering munitions and surveillance equipment intended for Uganda’s Military Intelligence and Special Forces Command.
A September 2021 pricing sheet outlined a $16.1 million package for two new Hermes 900 aircraft plus maintenance and training support.
Elbit has also prepared to supply Uganda with Lizard 3 laser guidance kits.
Uganda’s Military Intelligence and Special Forces Command, both listed as end users in the contracts, have previously faced US Global Magnitsky sanctions and United Nations scrutiny over torture and other abuses.
An Elbit spokesperson said the company does not comment on business matters involving customers and disputed that the leaked materials accurately reflected its business activities.
Deep Dive: Federal Judges Face an Escalating Wave of Threats
According to a [ [link removed] ]new report [ [link removed] ] from the Brennan Center for Justice, federal judges are facing a sharp uptick in personal threats and vitriol directed their way. A federal district judge received more than 700 threatening phone calls to their chambers after ruling on an immigration enforcement case brought by the second Trump administration.
The threats came after someone posted the judge’s home floor plan online. Fearing for their family’s safety, the judge spent a substantial sum of their own money to build a safe room and fortify their house. One sitting judge granted anonymity said they are “very concerned [and] my wife is definitely concerned” about their safety. These concerns “feel . . . very much a part of the enterprise.”
Authored by Alicia Bannon, Gowri Ramachandran, Yasmin Abusaif, Celina Avalos Jaramillo, Eliazar Chacha, and Stephen Spaulding, the report draws on interviews with 35 sitting and retired federal judges across 10 of the 12 regional circuits.
The judges describe an increasingly hostile environment. According to the federal judiciary’s fiscal year 2027 congressional budget summary, security incidents involving judges that the US Marshals Service classified as significant rose 57% in fiscal year 2025 and are on pace to climb further. Justice Elena Kagan told the Senate in July 2026 that the Supreme Court Police anticipated a 38% increase in threats against the justices in 2026, following a 25% rise the year before.
The report traces the surge to several overlapping causes. Judges point to a proliferation of contentious, high-profile litigation, including cases stemming from the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and more than 850 lawsuits challenging Trump administration policies, over 150 of which resulted in at least a partial court block.
They also cite escalating rhetoric from political leaders, including the president, members of Congress, and senior officials who have accused judges of bias without evidence. Judge William G. Young said that “in 40 years of judicial service, I have never experienced an executive branch that is so overtly hostile to the federal judiciary — top to bottom.”
People are now using a disturbing new intimidation tactic known as pizza doxing, in which unsolicited deliveries arrived at judges’ homes, often placed in the name of Daniel Anderl, the son of Judge Esther Salas who was murdered in a 2020 attack targeting her.
A May 2025 study previously found that violent or impeachment-related posts targeting federal judges on social media rose 324% between May 2024 and March 2025.
The consequences extend well beyond the courthouse. Many judges report paying out of pocket for private security, restricting their children’s routines, and worrying that the value of accepting government protection could expose them to personal tax liability.
Some acknowledge to the authors that they have considered leaving the bench. Others said fear of the personal toll could deter qualified candidates from seeking judicial office in the first place. Judges of color and women describe disproportionately severe threats tied to their identities.
But the report also noted that nearly every sitting judge interviewed insists the threats have not swayed their rulings, even as many voice concern about whether that trend will hold if the pressure continues to build.
Judges assess the existing security infrastructure as strained. They point to outdated courthouse screening equipment, chronic underfunding, and gaps in communication with the Marshals Service during active investigations. A majority also expresses concern that housing the Marshals Service within the Department of Justice leaves judicial protection vulnerable to interference from the same executive branch that is, in many cases, a party to the underlying disputes.
The Trump administration has reassigned marshals from judicial security duties to assist with immigration enforcement, according to the report, further straining an already limited workforce.
The report closes with a set of policy recommendations. It calls on Congress to fully fund judicial security requests, which Congress increased from $750 million in fiscal year 2025 to $892 million in fiscal year 2026, and to clarify that judges who accept additional protection would not face personal tax liability for the benefit. It urges lawmakers to strengthen the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act to establish automatic, nationwide protections for judges’ personal information rather than relying on a patchwork of state opt-out systems.
The authors also recommend that the Administrative Office of the US Courts convene a blue-ribbon commission to study whether judicial security functions should move from the executive branch into the judiciary itself, modeled in part on the Supreme Court’s own police force.
Additional recommendations address training for judges and court staff, stronger content policies at social media companies to curb doxing and harassment, and expanded civic education efforts aimed at helping the public understand the judiciary’s role. Taken together, the report argues, these measures are necessary not only to protect individual judges but to preserve the independence of the federal bench itself.
Show Us the Receipts
At Inkstick, foreign policy scholars [ [link removed] ]debate [ [link removed] ] whether America’s overseas military bases are assets or liabilities after the Iran war as part of the Reimagining US Grand Strategy roundtable. Contributors note that some host countries like Spain restrict US access during the conflict. These limitations, and the immense maintenance and defense bills, highlight risks tied to Washington’s roughly 750 overseas facilities. Christopher Preble of the Stimson Center argues that permanent forward presence gives presidents nearly unchecked latitude to use force abroad. He warns that “no one, and nothing, can stop” a president who perceives danger. Other panelists trace sovereignty disputes in Niger and the Chagos Islands, along with Latin America’s history of base closures and rebuilding, as previews of fights to come.
In a similarly restrained vein, Sam Heller [ [link removed] ]argues [ [link removed] ] that US progressives need to defend the sovereignty of countries targeted by the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Heller writes that Washington has long violated other nations’ autonomy, but says the current administration acts with unusual openness in its effort to dominate weaker states. He points to the “Donroe Doctrine” in the Western Hemisphere, US pressure on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, and economic coercion against Iraq and Syria as examples. Heller argues that the administration’s policy remains consistent across regions, noting that “it is trying to subordinate and control these countries.” He calls on progressives to champion sovereign equality as a core value.
At The World, Adeline Sire [ [link removed] ]reports [ [link removed] ] on how Parisians cope with a summer of five heat waves that frequently push temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Sire finds residents taping emergency blankets to their windows to deflect sunlight, a low-cost hack that has become common across the city. Ïan Larue, who used the method in her 20th arrondissement apartment, said, “It’s taped to the outside with the gold side facing inward.” Sire also visits supervised swimming spots along the Seine River, where Paris City Hall recorded 70,000 visitors in July alone. Swimmers describe the experience as an unexpected respite from the region’s escalating summer heat.
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Critical State is written by Inkstick Media in collaboration with The World.
The World is a weekday public radio show and podcast on global issues, news, and insights from PRX and GBH.
Inkstick Media reports on how security decisions shape everyday life, following the money, power, and consequences of war.
Critical State is made possible in part by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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