Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is facing open revolt from Republican senators over his Pentagon leadership, threatening to complicate the Trump administration's push for more than $70 billion in emergency national security spending this fall.
Key GOP lawmakers are demanding answers about a wave of senior military departures and the absence of a clear strategy for the Iran war, now six months old. The conflict has strained the administration's ability to build consensus for its funding request without Democratic support.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) publicly accused Hegseth of mismanagement on Wednesday, calling on President Donald Trump to fire him. "I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country," Tillis posted 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 find a Pentagon leader who will "retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it." The Defense Department did not respond to his criticism.
The departures fueling the backlash include Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, who resigned this week, along with Gen. Randy George, the former Army chief of staff, and Gen. Christopher Donahue, the top Army commander in Europe.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed frustration over Driscoll's exit. Rounds said the Secretary was frustrated with the release of top generals. "That's not the first time I've heard that," Rounds said. "I think that points to questions we're going to be asking when we get back in terms of where's the leadership at."
Rounds emphasized what the Pentagon is losing. "We've had some very good generals that are no longer there that we respected and that had a huge amount of foundational knowledge in terms of moving us forward as far as the changing capabilities that we need to incorporate into the overall fighting force."
A former senior Republican Armed Services staffer said many GOP lawmakers want a shake-up at the Pentagon. The staffer views Hegseth as a political liability heading into the November election. "Hegseth has treated the Pentagon like his own personal playground in the culture wars," the staffer said. Many lawmakers remain reluctant to directly challenge President Trump over a prominent Cabinet member.
