Adam R. Telle’s appointment last week as acting secretary of the US Army has left vacant his former job as chief civilian supervisor of the Corps of Engineers’ civil works mission.
In a post on social media on Sept. 3, President Donald Trump elevated Telle to the top position following the abrupt resignation of Dan Driscoll. Telle has served as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works since August 2025. His previous experience includes serving as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) from 2021 to 2025, as well as Senate Team Leader for the White House Office of Legislative Affairs during Trump’s first term.
The administration had not appointed anyone to fill the civil works vacancy at the time of publication. An ASA/CW nominee would need Senate approval. D. Lee Forsgren, Senior Deputy ASA/CW, is second in command.
Telle was the primary authority as ASA/CW to provide policy direction and oversight of all aspects of the Corps’ civil works program for the Army. This included commercial shipping, flood and storm damage reduction, and permitting activities under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act.
An Army spokesman did not provide details on the protocol for filling the ASA/CW position, but in an emailed statement to ENR reiterated Telle’s recent appointment by the president and Senate confirmation last year.
The move comes amid the rollout of the USACE’s “Build Infrastructure, Not Paperwork” initiative, launched last February under Telle. The sweep program aims to overhaul the Civil Works process through 27 measures that include goals around minimizing non-core programs, directing funding to priority water resource projects to provide the greatest national benefits, shortening permitting timelines, as well as reducing or eliminating regulations and procedures that slow down the Corps’ delivery of Civil Works projects and programs.
Recent Corps projects include repairing the North Pier at Grays Harbor in Washington. In March, it awarded Big River Construction a roughly $30 million contract for restoration work on storm-damaged sections protecting the harbor’s federal shipping channel. The Alaska District of the Corps of Engineers is also involved in several coastal erosion projects, under harsh conditions, including a $500 million project in Utquiagvik, Alaska.
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