Republican Senator Urges Trump to Fire Defense Secretary Hegseth Amid Iran War Strain

A Republican senator has publicly called on President Donald Trump to remove his Defense Secretary, in an unusually blunt intervention from within the president's own party as the Pentagon grapples with the strain of a renewed six-month war against Iran.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said in a social media post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has created a "leadership void" at the top of the US military, accusing him of "inept management" of service members at a moment when American forces are stretched by fighting in the Middle East and closely watching Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Tillis said he had "never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country," adding that Hegseth "is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense."

A pointed contrast with a departing official

Tillis's criticism came days after former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned amid reported friction with Hegseth. The senator held up Driscoll as an example of the kind of forward-thinking leadership he says the Pentagon now lacks, arguing that changing forms of warfare, visible both in Ukraine and in the Iran conflict, demand officials willing to modernize rather than fixate on ideological battles. He said that under different leadership, the Pentagon would be "fighting to retain talented leaders like Dan," rather than watching senior officers depart or be forced into retirement.

Tillis urged Trump directly to "find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it."

A rare break from a sitting senator

Tillis, who voted to confirm Hegseth in 2025 despite reservations aired at the time, has increasingly positioned himself as one of the more visible intraparty critics of the administration's approach to defense and democratic norms. He announced in mid-2025 that he would not seek re-election in November's midterms, a decision that has given him more latitude to break publicly with the White House on sensitive personnel matters without facing direct electoral consequences.

Since taking over the Pentagon, Hegseth has pursued a series of contested changes, including efforts to limit journalists' access to the department, the removal of transgender service members, revised admissions standards at military academies, and a broader campaign he has framed as purging "wokeness" from the armed forces. Critics, including some Republican lawmakers, argue those priorities have come at the expense of operational readiness.

Backdrop of a costly, unpopular war

The criticism lands as the Pentagon faces reports of strained munitions stockpiles after six months of intermittent conflict with Iran, now in its most intense phase since fighting resumed this past weekend following a monthlong pause. Public opinion surveys cited by national outlets show a majority of Americans disapprove of the administration's handling of the war, and Trump's own approval ratings have slipped since the renewed hostilities began. With the Pentagon's leadership and strategy now facing scrutiny from within Trump's own party, the coming weeks are likely to test whether the criticism translates into any change in personnel or approach.

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