Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who voted to confirm the appointment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on Wednesday called on President Donald Trump to fire the Pentagon chief, accusing the former Fox News host of “inept management” that has driven experienced military leaders from their posts as U.S. forces confront an expanding war with Iran and mounting concerns about military readiness.
Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who voted to confirm Hegseth last year but is not seeking reelection, issued the unusually blunt rebuke following the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who had reportedly clashed with Hegseth over military modernization and the removal of senior officers.
“I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” Tillis wrote on X. “He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.”
Tillis urged Trump to replace Hegseth.
“I urge the president to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it,” he said.
The criticism comes at a particularly precarious moment for the Pentagon. The U.S. war with Iran, launched Feb. 28, has passed the six-month mark with no end in sight, while concerns have mounted about depleted munitions stockpiles, the strain on American forces and the military’s ability to respond to crises elsewhere in the world.
Tillis argued that the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine demonstrate the need for rapid military modernization rather than what he characterized as Hegseth’s preoccupation with ideological and cultural disputes.
“Our understanding and assumptions of warfare are being challenged in places like Ukraine and Iran, and Dan understands the old way of doing business no longer applies,” Tillis wrote.
Driscoll and former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George had championed the Army Transformation Initiative, an effort to accelerate the development and deployment of drones and other emerging technologies while changing traditional approaches to procurement and force structure.
“He and General George began a transformative period of innovation in how we array our forces and equip our Soldiers,” Tillis wrote of Driscoll. “He challenged our legacy approach to manning and procurement.”
Tillis said Driscoll also “cared deeply about the men and women in our Army formations and quickly earned their respect.”
Driscoll’s departure intensified concerns among some Republicans about turmoil at the Pentagon and Hegseth’s treatment of senior military officials.
“If we had a @SecWar who maintained the same priorities and forward-thinking, he would be fighting to retain talented leaders like Dan and the many flag officers he has forced into retirement,” Tillis wrote. “Instead, he is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks.”
Hegseth has overseen the removal or departure of an extraordinary number of senior military leaders. They include former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. CQ Brown Jr.; Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top officer; Gen. David Allvin, the Air Force chief of staff; Gen. James Mingus, the Army vice chief of staff; and Gen. Chris Donahue, the top U.S. Army commander in Europe.
The upheaval has occurred as the Pentagon confronts rapidly changing methods of warfare, particularly the widespread use of inexpensive drones demonstrated in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was disappointed by Driscoll’s departure.
“I think he’s been a pretty solid guy. So disappointed,” Rounds said.
Rounds also stressed the importance of adapting to drone warfare.
“This issue that’s going on with regard to Ukraine, the use of drones, the integration of drones into this — this is not a new thing that just happened,” Rounds said. “We’ve been watching this ever since 2021. … Watching the Ukrainians do a marvelous job with drones. We’ve been watching this.”
The dispute over modernization has been sharpened by reports that Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s acting chief of staff, ordered a Europe-based Army battalion to shut down an experimental drone initiative and return its focus to its primary mission as an airborne infantry unit.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran, has instead made changing the military’s culture one of the defining missions of his tenure. He has targeted diversity programs, tightened grooming and fitness standards, removed transgender service members, reviewed military academy admissions policies and pushed out senior officers whom the administration regarded as insufficiently aligned with its priorities.
He has also imposed restrictions on journalists covering the Pentagon, prompting objections from news organizations.
Tillis’ criticism is particularly notable because he supplied a crucial vote for Hegseth’s confirmation. The Senate confirmed Hegseth 51-50 in January 2025, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three Republican senators joined Democrats in opposing the nomination.
Tillis had publicly wrestled with his decision before ultimately voting for Hegseth. Their relationship has deteriorated sharply since then.
In May, Tillis said he believed Hegseth had misinformed Trump about the dynamics of the war with Iran and said removing the defense secretary was on his “Christmas wish list.”
Tillis has also attacked Hegseth and several administration officials in a forthcoming book, describing them as “MAGATS” and accusing them of failing to anticipate problems and protect Trump from damaging decisions.
Trump has responded by attacking Tillis, who announced in June 2025 that he would not seek another Senate term.
“The media said how brave he was to take me on, but he wasn’t brave, he was just the opposite – HE WAS A QUITTER!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in May. “Now he can have all the fun he wants for a few months, with some of his RINO friends, screwing the Republican Party.”
The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tillis’ latest criticism.
The dispute comes as the administration faces growing questions about the cost and strategic direction of the Iran war. Six months of fighting have strained American military resources while the conflict has spread across the Middle East. Reports of declining stocks of critical munitions have raised concerns about whether the United States could sustain the campaign while maintaining sufficient weapons for other potential conflicts.
The political costs have also increased. Fuel prices have risen sharply since the war began, and public support for the administration’s handling of the conflict has deteriorated. More than two-thirds of Americans disapproved of the administration’s handling of the war in a University of Massachusetts poll released Aug. 31.
For Tillis, however, the immediate issue is the Pentagon’s leadership. His criticism represents an extraordinary reversal for a Republican senator who helped put Hegseth in office less than two years ago and now argues that the defense secretary is weakening the military during a major war.
Tillis said the Pentagon needs a leader focused on retaining experienced officers, modernizing American forces and preparing for rapidly evolving forms of warfare.
Instead, he said, Hegseth has produced precisely the opposite.
“He is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks.”
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