Republican Senator Thom Tillis calls on Trump to fire Pete Hegseth over his 'inept management' of military
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Republican Senator Thom Tillis calls on Trump to fire Pete Hegseth over his 'inept management' of military")
Republican Senator Thom Tillis calls on Trump to fire Pete Hegseth over his 'inept management' of military Photograph: (AFP)
Senator Thom Tillis urges Trump to fire Pete Hegseth, accusing him of inept Pentagon management after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s resignation
Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is urging President Trump to remove Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, sharply criticising his leadership of the Pentagon. Tillis intensified his criticism following Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s resignation, which came after repeated disagreements with Hegseth over the removal of senior military officials, including Gen. Randy George, the former Army chief of staff.
Tillis praised Driscoll’s tenure, describing him as “the right man at the right moment to lead our Soldiers and Army civilians,” while expressing frustration over what he sees as Hegseth’s mishandling of the Defense Department. “I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country. 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 posted on social platform X.
Tillis’ criticism is particularly notable because he cast a pivotal vote last year in support of Hegseth’s confirmation as defense secretary. He is now asking Trump to select a new Pentagon chief. “I urge the president to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it,” Tillis said. The North Carolina Republican also accused Hegseth of weakening the military’s senior leadership by removing or pushing out a series of high-ranking officials.
Among those officials are Gen. Chris Donahue, the top U.S. Army commander in Europe; former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. CQ Brown Jr.; Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy’s top officer; Gen. David Allvin, Air Force chief of staff; and Gen. James Mingus, Army vice chief of staff. Tillis also highlighted Driscoll’s work with George on the Army Transformation Initiative, which aimed to accelerate the deployment and integration of unmanned aircraft systems into Army operations.
“Our understanding and assumptions of warfare are being challenged in places like Ukraine and Iran, and Dan understands the old way of doing business no longer applies. He and General George began a transformative period of innovation in how we array our forces and equip our Soldiers. He challenged our legacy approach to manning and procurement,” Tillis wrote. “Most of all, he cared deeply about the men and women in our Army formations and quickly earned their respect,” the North Carolina senator added of Driscoll.
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