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Sharp criticism of Pentagon leadership from Tillis

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is now in the crosshairs of Republican Senator Thom Tillis. In a social media post on Wednesday, the North Carolina senator called on President Donald Trump to act, arguing that Hegseth has created a leadership vacuum at the top of the military while the war with Iran continues.

Tillis pointed to former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who resigned on Monday after disagreements with the Pentagon chief. According to the senator, Driscoll understood the changing realities of war, while Hegseth has brought internal disputes into the realm of culture wars instead of strengthening military capability.

Once a supporter, now calling for his removal

Although Tillis belongs to Trump’s Republican Party, he has emerged in recent years as one of the party’s more critical voices. In June 2025, the senator said he would not seek re-election in the November midterms while criticism of Trump continued; his term ends in January.

When the Senate voted on Hegseth’s confirmation at the start of Trump’s second term, Tillis was among those who backed the former soldier and television host. But the support came at the last minute, and the senator had already suggested at the time that he was uneasy about the candidate’s background and approach to management.

Changes at the Pentagon are at the center of the criticism

Since taking office, Hegseth has pushed through a series of controversial moves at the Pentagon. These have included efforts to restrict journalists’ access to the Defense Department and a broad campaign to remove what he has described as woke attitudes from the armed forces.

  • Removing or forcing the retirement of senior military figures,
  • Blocking promotions and expelling transgender troops from the military,
  • Revisiting admission criteria at military academies.

Tillis argued that these steps have elevated political and cultural battles instead of focusing on the demands of modern warfare. Citing the wars in Ukraine and on the Iran front, the senator said the Pentagon needs a forward-looking management approach as old assumptions about how war is fought are being challenged.

Iran war intensifies the pressure

The Iran war, which began on February 28 and passed the six-month mark last week, has increased pressure on Washington. With no sign the fighting will end soon, U.S. media reports have said shrinking ammunition stocks at the Pentagon could make future military operations more difficult.

The war has also carried a rising domestic political cost. As November’s congressional elections approach, public support for the Trump administration has slipped, fuel prices have risen, and the conflict has spread across a wider part of the Middle East.

According to a University of Massachusetts poll released on August 31, more than two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the administration’s handling of the war. Tillis’ intervention has therefore gone on record as one of the sharpest defense-policy criticisms to come from within the Republican Party.

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