Army Secretary Orders Social Media Accounts Shuttered After Post About Democrat Who Lost Both Legs in Iraq

 
Dan Driscoll

AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker, File

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll ordered multiple social media accounts associated with the U.S. military after they praised the service of Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).

Soldier for Life is an Army organization that promotes services for veterans, soldiers, and their families. On Saturday, it ran a commendatory post about Duckworth on its Facebook page, featuring an image of her in her Army uniform, along with a biography. The senator, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army, lost both legs in Iraq when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.

The post irked a user on X, who posted a screenshot of the Facebook post and tagged Driscoll’s government X account. On Monday, the post was taken down.

On Wednesday, The Hill reported that Driscoll ordered that the account and associated accounts be shuttered.

“A Department of Defense source familiar with the Army’s reasoning told The Hill that Driscoll directed all social media profiles affiliated with [Soldier for Life] to be shut down following the negative reactions to the post about Duckworth, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.”

The Hill added that an Army spokesperson said this was “simply a circumstance of the Army handling routine Army business.”

“When this legacy account came to Army leadership’s attention, we realized it was not directly managed by qualified Army personnel and was taken offline, just like the hundreds of accounts before it,” the spokesperson told The Hill.

Duckworth has been critical of Driscoll and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Last year, the senator voted against confirming them to their positions.

Last month, The New York Post ran a story alleging that Hegseth had been overcome with “paranoia” and was concerned President Donald Trump would replace him with Driscoll.

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Mike is a Mediaite senior editor who covers the news in primetime. Follow him on Bluesky.