Pentagon officials reportedly referring to acting Army Sec Adam Telle as 'Big P*ssy' in leaked group chat

A group chat of Pentagon officials obtained by the Daily Mail has revealed its members calling acting Army Secretary Adam Telle disparaging names. This comes as Telle is reportedly aiming on making his role permanent, while War Secretary Pete Hegseth instead wants current chief spokesman Sean Parnell to take the role.

Telle was tapped for the acting role by Trump in September and has served as a Capitol Hill aide under Senator Bill Hagerty. He served in the first Trump administration and was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works in August 2025. Telle has received backlash for not having any prior military service.

The Daily Mail revealed a group chat titled “BigP[cat emoji] UPDATED (AFOO),” AFOO meaning Army front office only. Messages from officials in the chat included one saying of Telle, “He’s a swamp creature.” Another said, “a hill rat.” Yet another said, “He’s called Big P*ssy.”

One Army official told the outlet of Telle, “He's never served a f*cking day in uniform. So, you know, affectionately or unaffectionately he's called ‘Big P*ssy’ through some of the Army staff, which is kind of hilarious.”

Pentagon sources who spoke to the outlet said the nickname stems from his opposition to the firing-squad death of Fort Hood terrorist Nidal Hasan, as well as an “embarrassing photo” of Telle. The photo shows Telle in a blue shirt and khaki pants that are tight-fitting in the torso portion.

One Pentagon source said, “The photo and the pushback on the firing squad earned him the nickname that's going around: ‘Big P*ssy.’”

Sources told the outlet that Telle has been working to make his temporary role permanent, though Hegseth has made it clear he would be there only temporarily. This comes after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll departed in September.

Parnell, however, is Hegseth’s preferred choice to sit in the role permanently, according to the report. A Pentagon official told the outlet, “The secretary has talked to the president about Sean.” They said that Parnell is Hegseth’s “only pick” for the role. Parnell is an Army veteran who earned two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.

After Parnell made a surprise speech at the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting, Telle was reportedly fuming. One source told the outlet, “It's pretty glaringly obvious that he wants this job, even though, from my understanding, it was always supposed to be a temporary thing, and he's not happy about it.”

The two men have denied there being any feud. Parnell said, “I have a great working relationship with Adam Telle and consider him a friend. Any claim otherwise is totally made up. Adam is doing a great job in his acting role as Secretary of the Army, and the Department is grateful for his leadership.”

Telle said, “Fake news from anonymous sources, every word of which is totally fabricated, will not prevent Secretary Hegseth, Sean, and me from remaining coordinated, fully aligned, and united under the leadership of President Trump. Sean is a great leader, who I respect and genuinely enjoy working with.”