Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing mounting pressure over his leadership of the Pentagon, with a Republican senator now calling on President Donald Trump to replace him. Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, publicly urged Trump to find a new Pentagon chief following the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. Tillis praised Driscoll as “the right man at the right moment” and said he had helped lead efforts to modernize the Army, particularly as warfare evolves in places including Ukraine and Iran.
But he sharply criticized Hegseth, saying the Defense Secretary was “creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks.” “I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” Tillis said, accusing Hegseth of being “intimidated by competence” and of focusing on culture-war issues rather than national defense. His call puts pressure on Hegseth from within the Republican Party at a moment when the Pentagon is already dealing with substantial senior leadership turnover. Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon duty press officer via email for comment.
Democrats have been calling for Hegseth's removal for months, but the criticism has now expanded to Republicans who have questioned his management of the Pentagon. The chief of staff’s gone. The person being nominated for the position is interim, and we don’t know if he’s gonna be confirmed,” Rogers told MS NOW.
Republican Representative Dusty Johnson agreed, adding that he felt there had been too much turnover with the senior officers. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Mike Rounds told reporters that they'd lost some "very good generals" that were widely respected. He added that he'd heard Driscoll “was frustrated with some of his top generals being released.” Several Democratic lawmakers have also called explicitly for Hegseth to be impeached.
Representative Adelita Grijalva said it was “past time” to impeach Hegseth, while Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove said it was time to impeach him “every day of the week.” Representative Becca Balint similarly said it was “long past time.” Those comments come after House Democrats launched a formal impeachment effort against Hegseth earlier this year. Yassamin Ansari, Democrat of Arizona, introduced H.Res. 1177, titled “Impeaching Peter B. Hegseth, Secretary of Defense of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.” The resolution was co-sponsored by 13 other House Democrats and referred to the House Judiciary Committee, where it remains.
The resolution contains six articles of impeachment. Among the allegations are that Hegseth engaged in an unauthorized war against Iran and recklessly endangered U.S. service members; violated the law of armed conflict; negligently handled sensitive military information; obstructed congressional oversight; abused his power and politicized the armed forces; and engaged in conduct bringing disrepute upon the military. The introduction of H.Res. 1177 does not mean Hegseth has been impeached or is facing imminent removal.
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