Trump names Adam Telle acting Army secretary
Trump says Adam Telle, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, will become Acting Secretary of the Army, effective immediately.
WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump named Adam Telle, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, as Acting Secretary of the Army, effective immediately, in a post on Truth Social. Trump called Telle a “Great Patriot” who is “respected by all.”
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “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. He is a Great Patriot, who is respected by all. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Trump” on September 3, 2026 at 9:02 PM ET.
This is Trump’s 9th message released today, and the last post was 1 hour ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 64 of his 632 posts over the last 30 days classified as Domestic Policy posts.
Telle is the 14th Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, sworn in on August 5, 2025 following his nomination by Trump and confirmation by the United States Senate, according to pianc.us. He was the second Trump Army appointee to be confirmed, according to pianc.us. In that role he holds principal authority to set policy direction and to supervise the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program for the Department of the Army, according to pianc.us. Those responsibilities cover commercial navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, and Permit ting under the Clean Water Act, according to pianc.us.
Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle posed at WASHINGTON D.C. on 09/03/2026.
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Telle previously served as chief of staff to U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, according to pianc.us. Before that he was Trump’s chief liaison to the Senate when he led the White House Office of Legislative Affairs’ Senate team, according to pianc.us. He spent 10 years in the office of Senator Thad Cochran, where he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Legislative Director, and top national security staffer, according to pianc.us. A native of Northport, Alabama, he holds degrees in computer science and communication from Mississippi State University, where he was elected student body president, according to pianc.us.
Telle arrived in Washington as a college graduate in 2005 with no military or engineering training, according to E&E News. The Army Corps of Engineers employs more than 30,000 people, and the job has tested leaders with more extensive résumés inside the Corps bureaucracy, according to eenews. Telle, 43, learned the ways of the Army Corps in Congress, where he climbed the ladder at the offices of Republican senators from the South, according to eenews.
Telle told a U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing in February that the Trump administration was pursuing “the most significant transformation of the program since at least 1986” through an initiative he called “Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork,” according to juneauindependent. That plan comprises approximately 27 initiatives, including reducing Permit regulations and contracting feasibility studies to the private sector, according to juneauindependent. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the committee, accused the Corps of “the worst politicization of the Corps of Engineers in modern times,” according to juneauindependent.
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