Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) called on President Donald Trump on Wednesday to remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, days after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned from his post after 18 months in the job.
Writing on X, Tillis said Hegseth has pushed out senior officers and failed to retain the talent the Pentagon needs. Driscoll submitted his resignation to Trump on Monday.
“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,” Tillis wrote. “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 opened his post by thanking Driscoll, crediting him with pushing the Army to adapt lessons from the fighting in Ukraine and Iran. He linked Driscoll’s tenure to that of former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, whom Hegseth removed in April.
“He and General George began a transformative period of innovation in how we array our forces and equip our Soldiers,” Tillis wrote.
The North Carolina Republican, who is retiring from the Senate, then criticized Hegseth directly.
“If we had a @SecWar who maintained the same priorities and forward-thinking, he would be fighting to retain talented leaders like Dan and the many flag officers he has forced into retirement,” Tillis wrote. “Instead, he is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks.”
Driscoll gave a different account of his departure. In a post on X Tuesday, he credited Hegseth and did not explain his reason for leaving, saying Wednesday would be his last day.
“We could not have made the progress we did without the support of Secretary Hegseth,” Driscoll wrote.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly praised Driscoll on Monday, saying he provided “outstanding leadership during historic military operations” and assisted with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he was “disappointed” by the resignation.
According to CNN, a source familiar with the matter said Driscoll had raised concerns in his resignation about Army transformation and readiness, and that Hegseth was “blocking those efforts specifically by firing the generals who were responsible.”
CBS News has counted at least 20 departures from the Pentagon’s top ranks under Hegseth, spanning both uniformed commanders and civilian appointees. Tillis voted to confirm Hegseth to the post.
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