Latest news with #Driscoll
Axios
a day ago
- Business
- Axios
New York State may seek federal loan for ambitious nuclear plan
The New York Power Authority plans to approach the Energy Department's loan office about the state's new nuclear energy plans, president and CEO Justin Driscoll tells Axios. Why it matters: The comments help reveal how the NYPA is thinking about options for launching the state's first reactor construction in decades. Driving the news:"We are exploring how to best utilize DOE programs, including the Loan Programs Office," Driscoll said. "We will definitely be reaching out to them, and hopefully be meeting with them in the near future," he said. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has signaled plans to focus LPO, a deep-pocketed program, on nuclear tech as he narrows its focus. Catch up quick: Gov. Kathy Hochul this week tasked NYPA with developing at least a gigawatt — enough to power roughly a million homes — of new nuclear somewhere upstate. Right now it's wide open, with no decisions on tech — say, multiple SMRs vs. gigawatt-size designs like the Westinghouse AP1000 — or locations and partners. What's next: NYPA will soon issue formal solicitations for community interest, financial partners, and technologies, Driscoll said. It's also just begun a search for a senior VP for nuclear, a new role at the authority. Yes, but: Driscoll made clear NYPA isn't starting from scratch. "We've actually been at this for about a year now," he said, citing discussions in forums such as the Electric Power Research Institute, where he's a board member. "We're obviously starting with a pretty good foundation of knowledge around the different technologies and who's working in this field," he said. NYPA has longstanding relationships with Ontario Power Generation, which is building new nuclear generation. The two utilities share operations of a major hydropower dam across the St. Lawrence River. He also noted NYPA's ongoing work to develop utility-scale solar projects, and its past ownership of two New York nuclear plants sold in 2000. What we're watching: Driscoll sees tailwinds from President Trump's recent executive orders on nuclear power. "It's a good indication of what the priorities of the administration are, and where they want to see timelines accelerated," he said. The other side: " Hochul's decision to step in based on promises from Donald Trump shows just how unserious she is about New Yorker's energy bills and climate future," the Public Power NY Coalition said in a statement. "NYPA should be laser focused on rapidly scaling up their buildout of affordable solar and wind which is the only way to meet the state's science-based climate goals and lower energy bills." The big picture: The state plan comes as U.S. power demand is rising thanks to data centers, EVs, new manufacturing, cooling needs and more. Tech giants have been striking power purchase deals with reactor operators and entering longer-term agreements to support next-wave designs. Driscoll said NYPA hasn't been speaking with hyperscalers about the plan yet, and that it's "too early to tell" whether they'll be involved. But he also said: "There is no question that the data centers will be interested in this generation, because, as we all know, it's firm, baseload, 24/7 power, which is what they're looking for."
Axios
3 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Expect more "reshuffling" in Army's transformation
Thousands of feet in the air, returning to D.C. from Georgia, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told Axios of his housecleaning ambitions — the "cobwebs and bullsh*t" that need sweeping. "Complacency right now is going to be rewarded with failure and death in the short- to medium-term," he said. The big picture: The Army Transformation Initiative's opening salvo landed May 1 with the backing of Driscoll and others, including Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It jarred Congress and industry alike with its cuts (M10 Booker), consolidation (Futures and Training and Doctrine commands) and urgency. A second push, colloquially known as "2.0," is now in the works. It focuses on "procurement, reorganizing and reshuffling, and firing," Driscoll said, as well as funding "good ideas" plucked from the minds of soldiers and small- and medium-sized businesses. Nothing is sacred, it appears. "We should be held accountable if we're not willing to look at everything." Driving the news: Driscoll spent Monday at Fort Stewart, in the swampy southwest of Savannah, inspecting armored vehicles and drones and workout regimens and barracks. He sought feedback from troops on what desperately needs fixing — and warned them of how radically different war looks today. Axios was the only media in tow. Zoom in: Fort Stewart is home to the 3rd Infantry Division. Two armored brigade combat teams there are involved with Transforming in Contact, meant to quickly arm soldiers and test commercially available kit. That initiative predates and informs ATI. Soldiers are experimenting with robotics to clear battlefield obstacles, aerial drones to make first contact with an enemy, and tools to better understand and leverage the electromagnetic spectrum, which is key to communications and weapons guidance. Friction point: Congress has not been happy with the level of detail the Army has thus far provided concerning its overhaul, said to save $48 billion over five years. "We don't serve either the taxpayer or the common defense with blank checks for vaguely defined priorities," Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said at a June 18 appropriations hearing. "We want to see the analysis behind the specific bets the Army wants to place on ATI," he added. "We want to understand the second-order effects on industry, other services and allies." The other side: Driscoll promised to show the service's work in 10 days. The information had not been relayed as of Monday evening. The bottom line: "We believe the decision to not act is actually riskier than the decision to act and get it wrong," Driscoll said. The Russia-Ukraine war, a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan and a constant simmer in the Middle East consume Beltway thinking. "The existential factors and threats that are occurring today make it a very credible statement to say 'We're either going to do this in a wartime footing or we're going to do it in a pre-wartime footing,'" Driscoll added.
Axios
3 days ago
- General
- Axios
Exclusive: Army secretary hits Georgia barracks for feedback
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll this week kicked off a quality-of-life tour, consulting soldiers about food access, housing and more. Why it matters: Living conditions influence military morale and readiness; horror stories hurt recruiting and retention. Driving the news: Driscoll spoke with dozens of troops Monday at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where the situation in 2022 was so dire that reported on "Operation Eradicate Mold" and "disgusting conditions that would get an apartment or restaurant in the civilian world condemned." "Fort Stewart is renowned for bad barracks," Driscoll told me after touring a few rooms, including one in a building that was shuttered and is now years into a renovation. Some of the issues that 3rd Infantry Division soldiers brought to the secretary's attention: Long walks to get food and odd hours at dining facilities No ovens in some rooms, and other appliance issues Too few trashcans, leading to garbage pileups and litter Bug infestations requiring pest control Larger common areas, so visitors aren't crammed onto beds Zoom out: The Government Accountability Office in 2023 issued a damning report on military housing, documenting instances of hot-water outages, unusable elevators, broken locks and methane leaks. "We found that living conditions in some military barracks may pose potentially serious risks to the physical and mental health of service members, as well as their safety," the watchdog said. Thirty-one recommendations were made. The Pentagon concurred with 23. "When I was in the Army … the same problems existed," Driscoll told Axios. "The sinful part of that is we knew they were problems in 2009, and now it's 2025." Driscoll told multiple 3rd Infantry Division soldiers that they had raised good points. He committed to investigating them. "Until we're able to fix how we, as an Army, structurally accomplish big goals, we will continue to let them down. I hope that we are able to succeed in the things that matter most to them," he said in an interview. "I am very optimistic that … we're about to take a sledgehammer to all of the providers of our dining services."
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Army Sec: $40 million parade on Trump's birthday a 'Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity'
WASHINGTON — The Army's $40 million parade Saturday to celebrate its 250th anniversary is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase the service, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told USA TODAY. That it also falls on President Donald Trump's birthday, and that he'll preside over the tanks and troops that rumble and march past him from a specially built reviewing stand? Simply coincidence. 'Unless soldiers 170 years before he was born somehow timed that date,' Driscoll in a June 12 interview. Driscoll talked about the parade and who's expected to attend (invitations almost certainly have been extended to Mark Esper and Mark Milley, top former officials who clashed with Trump, he said). Driscoll also addressed the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objection of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the No. 1 threat to his soldiers – cheap, lethal drones. Planning for the Army's 250th birthday began before Driscoll became the civilian leader of the Army on February 25, he said. A longstanding tradition for armies, a military parade was deemed a natural way to highlight the Army's strength and service to the United States. 'I think sometimes the media gets in its own way in telling stories,' Driscoll said. 'The coincidence that the president's birthday is on this date that occurred 250 years ago, and that we the Army want to tell this story, is I think going to be backed up. The reason we are spending this money, the reason we are so excited about it, I think we'll be backed up by recruiting data in the months ahead. 'This is not intended to be performative. We sincerely believe this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.' The parade, which includes potential damage to streets in Washington, D.C. from armored vehicles including 38 70-ton Abrams tanks, will range in cost from $25 million to $40 million. Democrats have criticized the event as a waste of money to promote Trump's image. "This is Trump. This is all about his ego and making everything about him," Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on May 14. The televised parade will reach a broad audience of Americans and spur some of them to serve, Driscoll said. 'We believe that so many Americans are excited about this and will tune in,' Driscoll said. 'And it will quantitatively fill up our recruiting pipeline for the years to come. We think it is absolutely worth the investment.' Driscoll said he believed with near certainty that Esper and Milley had been invited to attend the parade. The Army, a spokesman for Milley and the White House have not confirmed that. Esper is the former Army secretary Trump promoted to Defense secretary and then fired in November 2020 after he lost the election. Esper incurred Trump's wrath for urging restraint in deploying the military against protesters. Milley, a retired Army general, its chief of staff and the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also lost Trump's favor after apologizing for appearing in uniform near Trump after law enforcement officials forcibly cleared racial justice protesters from Lafayette Square, near the White House, so Trump could walk across it. The parade features dozens of armored combat vehicles, helicopters, vintage warplanes, thousands of soldiers in uniforms from the Revolutionary War to the present, horses, two mules and a dog. More: Soldiers excited (and nerve wracked) to drive tanks in DC military parade The procession will highlight the 'robustness and incredible talent of our soldiers,' Driscoll said. He hopes that Americans 'feel pride and honor' when they watch the parade. 'This is their Army,' he said. In 2017, during his first term, Trump wanted to hold a military parade, but Pentagon officials were leery of appearing to politicize the armed forces. Then-Defense Sec. Jim Mattis said he would 'rather swallow acid,' according to 'Holding the Line,' a book by his former speechwriter Guy Snodgrass. That Army, through its National Guard troops, is engaged at Trump's order in helping protect federal buildings and Los Angeles and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as they continue their crackdown on migrants expected of being in the country illegally. The deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles is justified and was approved by the voters who elected Trump. Trump, Driscoll said, is doing exactly what he said he'd do during the campaign. 'Our system was designed for exactly these moments,' Driscoll said. 'The reason we have presidential elections, the reason so many Americans turned out in November to support our president, Donald J. Trump, was for exactly these kinds of moments. If you look at the four-year period when President Trump was out of office, I think the American people didn't want violence in their communities.' The National Guard soldiers deployed to Los Angeles are talented, well trained and 'excited' about being there, Driscoll said. The Department of Homeland Security has asked the Pentagon for more than 20,000 additional National Guard troops for law enforcement support for its immigration crackdowns. More: Trump wants 20,000 troops to hunt, transport immigrants. Cost estimate: $3.6 billion Driscoll said he hasn't been briefed on the request but that the Army is ready to operate inside U.S. borders in legally appropriate ways. 'If the president feels, in consultation with the rest of the administration leadership, that is the best use of our National Guard, the Army stands by to support,' Driscoll said. On a separate issue, Driscoll talked about what he considers to be the top lethal threat to soldiers. Cheap, weaponized drones have become the weapon of choice in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Driscoll wants the Army to lead the Pentagon's effort to counteract drones. 'It's the number one thing we talk about every single day,' Driscoll said. Ukraine stunned Russia with a drone attack on its strategic warplanes. 'That should send fear into the hearts of armies around the world,' Driscoll said. 'A solution that was tens of thousands of dollars and pretty cleverly done over six months with very little signature to catch. It took out multiple billions of dollars of equipment, and that threat is real, and that threat is one that is being faced by every country.' Is the Pentagon better prepared than Russia for such an attack? 'I don't know,' Driscoll said. 'Hope so.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Army's $40 million parade: 'Once-in-lifetime opportunity'
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Yes, U.S. Army secretary said there is a soldier stationed on the moon. (There isn't)
Claim: U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll said: "We talked to an astronaut yesterday who's on the moon, who's a soldier." Rating: A rumor that the United States Army has a soldier stationed on the moon orbited social media in mid-June 2025 as a result of a statement allegedly made by U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll. The statement, shared by users on X (archived), Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and Reddit, was: "We talked to an astronaut yesterday who's on the moon, who's a soldier." People were quick to share the purported quote, some decrying it as an obvious blunder while others believed Driscoll inadvertently shared confidential intelligence. The quote about a soldier being stationed on the moon was correctly attributed to Driscoll, who made the comment during a Fox News appearance on June 11, 2025. The segment is available to watch on YouTube (at the 4:00 mark). Driscoll's remark came in response to a question about the military parade planned for June 14, 2025, when host Brian Kilmeade asked the secretary about allegations that the parade was meant for U.S. President Donald Trump's birthday rather than a celebration of Flag Day and the Army's 250th anniversary. The exchange began around three minutes into the segment. Driscoll said assertions the parade was celebrating Trump's birthday were "preposterous," adding: The Army started planning this long in advance because what we believe is this will continue the strength and recruiting and retention that we have as young Americans across the country get to see all of the amazing things that the Army has done, whether it's helping with floods in North Carolina or wildfires in California, or we talked to an astronaut yesterday who's on the moon who's a soldier; including actually going to war and fighting to defend the freedoms that make our nation so great. We think this is going to be an incredible opportunity for the Army to fill up our pipeline for the years to come and I find it offensive that anybody is challenging that. Kilmeade offered no follow-up question to Driscoll's comment but it appeared the secretary misspoke. There is no evidence that an astronaut is currently stationed on the moon. NASA's website states that only 12 people have ever walked on the moon, while Royal Museums Greenwich in London notes that trips to the moon concluded in 1972. However, Driscoll was part of a June 9, 2025, conversation with flight engineer Anne McClain, who is aboard the International Space Station. According to McClain's biography on the NASA website, she is a U.S. Army colonel and "was selected in June 2013 as one of eight members of the 21st NASA astronaut class." McClain is currently deployed on the ISS as part of NASA Expedition 73, which began on April 19, 2025, and is expected to return in November 2025. The conversation, which is available to watch on NASA's YouTube page, appeared to be what Driscoll's comment on Fox News was referring to, during which he said "on the moon" instead of, presumably, "in space" or "on the space station." Snopes reached out to the Army for further clarification on Driscoll's comment. A spokesperson highlighted a post on the secretary's X account featuring the same conversation between Driscoll and McClain, indicating that he slipped up when speaking to Kilmeade. - YouTube. Accessed 13 June 2025. ---. Accessed 13 June 2025. Anne C. McClain - NASA. Accessed 13 June 2025. Expedition 73 - NASA. Accessed 13 June 2025. Loe, Megan. 'Breaking down Craigslist Ad Seeking Seat Fillers on Day of Trump's DC Parade'. Snopes, 12 June 2025, 'Military Parade to Celebrate the Army's 250th Anniversary Will Be Held on Trump's Birthday'. AP News, 2 May 2025, Moonwalkers - NASA Science. 13 Apr. 2023, Veterans Invited to Celebrate U.S. Army's 250th Birthday - VA News. 11 June 2025, Why Did We Stop Going to the Moon? | Royal Museums Greenwich. Accessed 13 June 2025.
