Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth might not be feeling comfortable about his future after a Republican senator publicly broke ranks and said that there is growing discomfort in Congress with Hegseth's job performance.
In an interview with The Hill, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), whose threat to halt the confirmation of Donald Trump’s pick, Kevin Warsh, to head the Federal Reserve was a contributing factor leading to the DOJ to drop an investigation of current chair Jerome Powell, now seems to be turning his focus to Hegseth, a former Fox News personality.
As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton wrote, “Senate Republicans who spoke to The Hill on the condition of anonymity say Hegseth wouldn’t be confirmed to head the Pentagon if he were renominated by Trump today, and they say senior staff turmoil at the Defense Department under Hegseth’s leadership is a major concern.”
According to Tillis, he sees a lot of ousted DHS head Kristi Noem in Hegseth.
“I think he’s missing the mark on personnel. 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 explained while noting that during Hegseth’s active military career he only saw “30 or 40 people” under his command.
“Now he’s got an organization that’s much larger, much more complex than anything he’s done. I think he’s making some less-than-ideal personnel decisions,” he continued before adding that when it comes to management and technical skills, “there’s no question he’s got a failing grade.”
“In some respects, maybe not as extreme, but in some respects he’s displaying the exact lack of experience that got [former Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem in trouble,” he observed.
A big point of contention was Hegseth’s abrupt dismissal of Army chief of staff Randy George for many lawmakers.
“I have the greatest admiration and respect for Gen. Randy George. He’s probably one of the finest officers the United States Army has ever produced. It was a mistake for Secretary Hegseth to dismiss him,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
She added, “As far as the reason for his dismissal, I wouldn’t even begin to know what it was,”
