Retiring GOP senator who voted to confirm Hegseth now calls on Trump to replace him

Sen. Thom Tillis, a retiring North Carolina Republican who voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, is now publicly calling on President Trump to replace him, accusing Hegseth of the most inept military management Tillis has seen in eight years on the Armed Services Committee.

Tillis posted his broadside on X on Wednesday, two days after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll submitted his resignation to Trump. Driscoll had served 18 months in the role. His departure followed months of tension inside the Pentagon, where Hegseth has overseen the removal of senior uniformed and civilian leaders at a pace that has drawn scrutiny from members of both parties.

The North Carolina senator did not hold back. In a post on X, Tillis called Hegseth's leadership a direct threat to military readiness and accused the Defense Secretary of driving out the very people the Pentagon needs most.

Tillis: Hegseth 'is intimidated by competence'

Tillis served eight years on the Senate Armed Services Committee and chaired or served as ranking member of its Personnel and Readiness subcommittee. He framed his criticism around that record:

"I served on Senate Armed Services for 8 years and as chair or ranking member of the Personnel and Readiness subcommittee. I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country."

He went further, accusing Hegseth of substituting culture-war posturing for the serious work of running the Defense Department:

"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 also told the Washington Examiner that he no longer has confidence in Hegseth, saying the Defense Secretary has "a massive insecurity complex" and "a lack of experience in large organizations."

That language carries weight because Tillis voted to confirm Hegseth in January 2025. His reversal marks a notable break, a Republican senator who gave Hegseth the benefit of the doubt now publicly arguing that the experiment has failed.

Driscoll's exit followed clashes over Army readiness

Driscoll resigned Monday. On Tuesday, he posted on X and struck a conciliatory tone, crediting Hegseth with supporting the Army's progress.

"We could not have made the progress we did without the support of Secretary Hegseth."

But a source familiar with the matter told CNN a different story. That source said Driscoll raised concerns in his resignation about Army transformation and readiness, and accused Hegseth of "blocking those efforts specifically by firing the generals who were responsible."

Tillis credited Driscoll and Gen. Randy George, the former Army Chief of Staff whom Hegseth removed in April, with launching real reform. The senator said the two had begun "a transformative period of innovation in how we array our forces and equip our Soldiers." He argued that a competent Defense Secretary would have fought to keep leaders like Driscoll rather than push them out.

The pattern of senior departures has divided Republican lawmakers for months. Gen. George's removal in April was the first major flashpoint, but the exits have continued steadily since.

At least 20 senior Pentagon leaders gone under Hegseth

CBS News has counted at least 20 departures from the Pentagon's top ranks under Hegseth, spanning both uniformed commanders and civilian appointees. The removals have included Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, Army Training and Doctrine Command chief Gen. David Hodne, and, in a separate shakeup, Navy Secretary John Phelan, who was removed in April after months of tensions with Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg over leadership and shipbuilding.

Fox News reported that Phelan's ouster made him the second senior Pentagon official removed in April alone, following Gen. George. Trump publicly praised Phelan after the departure, calling him "a long time friend, and very successful businessman, who did an outstanding job." A senior administration official said Trump and Hegseth had agreed that new leadership at the Navy was needed, a diplomatic framing that masked what insiders described as a forced exit.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly praised Driscoll on Monday as well, saying he provided "outstanding leadership during historic military operations" and had assisted with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said he was "disappointed" by the resignation.

The disconnect between the White House's warm public statements about departing officials and the internal friction that preceded their exits has become a recurring feature. Officials leave under pressure, receive polite praise on the way out, and the leadership gap they leave behind goes unaddressed.

Congress moves toward guardrails on Pentagon firings

Tillis is not alone in his concern. Bipartisan frustration has already reached the legislative process. The House passed a measure requiring the Pentagon to notify Congress within five days whenever a senior military officer is removed, Newsmax reported. Senate members have signaled that similar guardrails could be added to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican, has joined the chorus of concern. On the Democratic side, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia asked pointedly whether Hegseth is "pushing out the truth tellers to surround yourself by yes-men", and warned that bipartisan support exists for stronger oversight if the Pentagon fails to provide clearer explanations.

Hegseth has clashed with senators before. His confrontations with Senate critics over defense policy have become a recurring feature of his tenure, and the friction has not been limited to Democrats.

Tillis's call stands out because he is a retiring senator with no political incentive to grandstand. He has no reelection to win, no primary to survive. He cast a vote for Hegseth's confirmation and is now saying, on the record, that the man he helped put in the job is not fit for it.

The broader question is whether Tillis remains an isolated voice or the leading edge of wider Republican unease. The administration has faced reported internal tensions between the White House and the Pentagon, and senior departures across the administration have become a theme heading into the midterms.

Neither Hegseth nor the White House has publicly responded to Tillis's call for Hegseth's removal. Trump has not commented on the senator's demand.

Tillis put his argument in blunt terms. If the Defense Secretary "maintained the same priorities and forward-thinking," Tillis wrote, "he would be fighting to retain talented leaders like Dan and the many flag officers he has forced into retirement." Instead, Tillis said, Hegseth "is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks."

That void is the real story. Senior leaders keep leaving. The Pentagon keeps issuing polite farewells. And the bench keeps getting thinner at a time when the world is not getting safer. The growing willingness of Senate Republicans to break ranks on defense matters suggests that patience on Capitol Hill is running short.

A military that cannot keep its best leaders is a military that will eventually pay the price, and the people who pay it will not be the politicians arguing about it on social media.