Here we go again.
Retiring RINO Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) launched another broadside against the Trump Administration on Wednesday, this time demanding that President Donald Trump fire Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Tillis issued the stunning demand following the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who announced that Wednesday would be his final full day in the position after serving for approximately 18 months.
The North Carolina senator began by praising Driscoll as “the right man at the right moment” to lead the Army.
“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,” Tillis wrote.
Tillis then turned his fire on Hegseth, accusing the Trump Cabinet official of driving talented military leaders out of the Pentagon.
“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.”
Then came Tillis’s demand that Trump replace Hegseth.
“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.”
“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.”
“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’s attack conveniently ignores Driscoll’s own farewell statement.
Although establishment media outlets have reported tensions between Driscoll and Hegseth, the outgoing Army secretary did not blame Hegseth for his departure. Instead, Driscoll publicly thanked him.
“We could not have made the progress we did without the support of Secretary Hegseth,” Driscoll wrote. He also described serving under President Trump and Hegseth as “the honor of a lifetime.”
That did not stop Tillis from immediately exploiting Driscoll’s departure to demand another scalp from the Trump Administration.
I thank @SecArmy Dan Driscoll for his leadership to our Army and service to our country. Dan was the right man at the right moment to lead our Soldiers and Army civilians.
Our understanding and assumptions of warfare are being challenged in places like Ukraine and Iran, and Dan…
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) September 2, 2026
Hegseth’s father, Brian Hegseth, delivered a brutal response to the outgoing senator.
“I wanted to reply in the strongest fashion; but all I had to do was read all of the comments below and smile! You, sir are irrelevant.”
Tillis’s latest outburst should surprise absolutely no one.
In March, The Gateway Pundit reported that Tillis went on CNN and demanded that Trump fire White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, calling the America First immigration hawk a “big problem” with “outsized influence.”
In May, The Gateway Pundit reported that Tillis ran to CNN to attack Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a “failure” while showering praise on establishment Senator John Cornyn.
President Trump later blasted Tillis as a “weak and ineffective Senator” and a “QUITTER,” accusing him and his RINO allies of “screwing the Republican Party.”
Tillis has also repeatedly opposed the SAVE America Act, President Trump’s landmark election-integrity legislation requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Tillis snapped at independent journalist Sara Gonzales after she confronted him over his opposition to the legislation and the hundreds of thousands of dollars he reportedly received from industries that benefit from cheap foreign labor.
Now the retiring senator—freed from having to face Republican voters again—is attempting to dictate who should lead President Trump’s Pentagon.
Tillis voted to confirm Hegseth in 2025. The Senate ultimately confirmed him 51–50 after Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.
But with his political career winding down, Tillis apparently believes his final mission is to attack Trump’s most loyal America First officials on his way out the door.
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