Call comes as Army lacks Senate-confirmed leaders
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) publicly called on Wednesday for President Trump to fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, escalating scrutiny of the Pentagon chief’s management of the armed forces. In a statement reported by The Wall Street Journal’s Politics newsletter, Tillis wrote that he had “never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country” and accused the defense secretary of being “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.”
The Wall Street Journal’s Politics newsletter, written by Washington coverage chief Damian Paletta, framed Tillis’s intervention as the latest in a series of “storms” facing Hegseth. “He has weathered storms before,” the newsletter read. “But the new one forming looks to be getting bigger.” The newsletter also noted that Tillis’s use of “ginning” and “soberly” was “pretty loaded” for a defense secretary who was once heavily criticized for his drinking.
Tillis, a retiring senator, did not name a preferred successor to Hegseth in his statement.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Hegseth posts videos of himself working out and “trolls both adversaries and allies,” and has ousted numerous top military officers in an effort to reshape the Defense Department’s culture. The newsletter said his supporters, “notably” including Trump, view Hegseth’s “bravado” as “long overdue,” and that he has the support of many members in the military.
At the same time, the Journal reported, Hegseth “is alienating plenty of people too, including many civilian and military leaders who are close to Republicans.” Tillis’s intervention is the most pointed such public critique from a sitting Republican senator.
The Army secretary, Dan Driscoll, resigned last week after months of friction with Hegseth over the service’s direction and the ouster of senior Army officers, the Journal previously reported. Driscoll’s exit left the Army without any Senate-confirmed civilian or military leaders. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army vice chief, has served as acting chief of staff since Hegseth fired his predecessor, Gen. Randy George, in April; Trump has not nominated a successor.
The Wall Street Journal also reported Wednesday that the Pentagon is quietly extending troop deployments in the Middle East. Hegseth’s approach is part of an open-ended military strategy designed to give Trump options in the war, according to people familiar with the matter. The deployment of 19 warships, air-defense units, fighter squadrons and paratroopers across the region is straining service members and their families and creating a maintenance backlog that could take years to unwind, the Journal reported.
It remains unclear whether Trump will act on Tillis’s call. The president has publicly backed Hegseth, and the defense secretary continues to enjoy support among many in the military, the Journal reported. At the same time, the Journal said Hegseth “is alienating plenty of people too, including many civilian and military leaders who are close to Republicans” — a list that now includes a retiring Republican senator from North Carolina.
Tillis’s call follows Driscoll’s resignation, which MSI previously reported last week left the Army without any Senate-confirmed civilian or military leaders. Criticism of Hegseth’s Pentagon leadership has continued to mount, as MSI previously reported earlier this week.