OpenAI hires ex-Army Secretary, gaining bipartisan reach just as midterms loom

OpenAI has hired Dan Driscoll, the former civilian head of the US Army, as "Senior Counselor for National Security Modernization," a move The Wall Street Journal reads as a signal that OpenAI wants closer military ties, a larger share of government contracts, and influence over rules for AI use in the armed forces and intelligence agencies. Driscoll, who as the 26th Secretary of the Army oversaw nearly one million soldiers and more than 265,000 civilian employees and drove AI modernization including Project ARIA, will work with governments, industry, academia, and US allies on national security and cyber defense through AI. A close ally of Vice President JD Vance with strong relationships in both parties, he could open doors on Capitol Hill, and the hire follows the Pentagon's late-February 2026 classification of Anthropic as a "supply chain risk" and Sam Altman's same-day deal to deploy OpenAI models on classified networks.