{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hagerty.senate.gov/press-releases/2026/09/04/hagerty-applauds-appointment-of-former-chief-of-staff-as-acting-army-secretary/", "Hagerty Applauds Appointment of Former Chief of Staff as Acting Army Secretary", "2026-09-04", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Bill Hagerty", "H000601", "www.hagerty.senate.gov", "hagerty", "https://www.hagerty.senate.gov/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014On Thursday, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) commended President Donald Trump\u2019s appointment of Hagerty\u2019s former chief of staff, Adam Telle, as acting secretary of the Army.\n\nThe president announced Telle\u2019s appointment via a post on Truth Social. In the post, Trump noted that Telle was \u201ca Great Patriot, who is respected by all.\u201d\n\nTelle has a more than 20-year career in public service. He began his tenure in Washington in 2005, serving as a staff member to Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) upon his graduation from Mississippi State University, and later as legislative director and deputy chief of staff to Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS).\n\nTelle served as the chief staff member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security before moving to the White House Office of Legislative Affairs to serve as Trump\u2019s chief liaison to the Senate during the president\u2019s first term. Among his many accomplishments as liaison, Telle played a pivotal role in implementing the Abraham Accords, as well as in establishing the U.S. Space Force, the newest armed service branch in nearly 70 years.\n\nIn August 2021, Telle returned to Capitol Hill to serve on Hagerty\u2019s staff, where he rose to chief of staff. After President Trump won the 2024 election, Telle was appointed to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works during the president\u2019s second term in August 2025.\n\nDuring his time as Assistant Secretary, Telle transformed the Army Corps of Engineers\u2019 Civil Works Program, focusing on major national infrastructure projects involving commercial navigation, flood and storm-damage reduction, water resources, environmental restoration and permitting. During his confirmation process, Telle earned the support of the Senate as he advanced through both the Senate Armed Services and the Environment and Public Works Committees and was confirmed by the entire body in a bipartisan 72-22 vote.\n\n\u201cAdam has repeatedly proven himself as a tried and tested leader,\u201d said Hagerty. \u201cThrough his service across multiple areas of government, he\u2019s demonstrated that he can meet any moment and lead diligently, efficiently and\u2014above all\u2014effectively. This is a critical position for our nation\u2019s defense, and I can\u2019t imagine a better leader for the world\u2019s greatest warriors. I have every confidence that Adam will be a catalyst for positive change as acting secretary of the Army and support the outstanding work Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has done thus far in reestablishing American military excellence.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-05T08:49:07Z", "2026-09-05T08:50:44Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hagerty.senate.gov/press-releases/2026/09/04/hagerty-applauds-appointment-of-former-chief-of-staff-as-acting-army-secretary/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5458837151527405, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}