New reporting from The Hill reveals several GOP senators are itching for a new Defense Secretary.
Several Republican senators are pulling their support for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over concerns that his inexperience and brash leadership style are creating turmoil across the highest ranks of America’s military.
A new report from The Hill details a series of anonymous conversations with lawmakers who make clear that, if Hegseth’s confirmation vote were now, he would not get the nod. The outlet also noted that while the group of GOP lawmakers would like to see the secretary removed, the decision is up to President Donald Trump.
Hegseth, 45, has drawn the ire of Capitol Hill Republicans over his ousting of Secretary of the Navy John Phelan and Randy George, the Army chief of staff, who was especially well-liked among legislators. Former Navy Secretary, John Phelan, became the latest Trump admin casualty after reports of tensions with Pete Hegseth.
“The hollowing out of incredible leadership at the Pentagon has been a big concern,” a senator told The Hill. “It really came to a tipping point when Gen. George was dismissed. ” A number of GOP senators with oversight of the Department of Defense were focused on the timing of the general’s firing, which happened when Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll was away from Washington.
Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy George testifies during a Senate Committee on Armed Services at the Dirksen Senate Building on June 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. Apart from the anonymous opposition to Hegseth’s management of the department, some Republicans have taken their criticism public. Republican Senator Joni Ernst said it was a mistake to fire Gen.
George. Ernst cast an important vote in favor of the former Fox News host’s confirmation last year, despite expressing earlier reservations about his candidacy following sexual assault allegations against Hegseth, which he has denied. Senator Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who is not seeking re-election, accused Hegseth—who is a combat veteran— of “missing the mark” when it comes to personnel. Bill Clark/Getty Images “He has separated some of the most extraordinary generals that we’ve had in play.
I don’t quite know what’s going on there,” he said. Tillis, 65, added that while he supported the defense secretary’s confirmation last year, “he’s got a failing grade” on key skills involved in the job. Tensions had been brewing between Phelan and his bosses, Steve Feinberg and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, for months.
The Hill article, Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell told the Daily Beast that the secretary doesn’t comment on the nature of the departure of uniformed officers“But we all serve at the pleasure of the President — and the President and the Secretary deserve officers who fully and expeditiously embrace the priorities, policies, and objectives of this Administration,” Parnell wrote.
“It is extremely difficult to reform a department—particularly a department the size of DoW—with the same personnel who were a part of previous priorities. Necessary changes have been made and will continue to be made. ”The growing unease with Trump’s pick to oversee the military comes as the turnover in the president’s Cabinet accelerates. Aude Guerrucci/Reuters After former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was fired in March, the White House dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned soon after, following serious professional misconduct allegations. If Hegseth were to be next, he would not be the first Secretary of Defense under Trump to leave in the middle of the president’s term. In 2018, Secretary James Mattis resigned from his position over policy disagreements with the commander-in-chief.
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