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Thom Tillis supports the removal of Pete Hegseth from office.

Sept. 21 2026, Published 11:05 a.m. ET

A GOP leader has claimed the Pentagon has a management problem, RadarOnline.com has learned.

On Thursday, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Pete Hegseth should be removed, either by impeachment or by President Donald Trump replacing him, as a House effort to oust the Defense Secretary remains stalled until after the midterm elections.

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Thom Tillis sounds off on Pete Hegseth.

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Thom Tillis wants Trump to remove Pete Hegseth.

The outgoing Republican, who voted to confirm Hegseth last year, was asked whether House Republicans should support the eight articles of impeachment that Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced this week.

"We've got a management problem here," Tillis said. "He needs to go, whether it's impeachment or the most expedient route, just the president to replace him, would be great."

The North Carolina senator is not seeking reelection in November and has become one of Hegseth's most persistent Republican critics in the Senate, arguing that he has pushed out experienced officers and left a leadership gap at the top of the force.

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Thomas Massie filed an impeachment resolution on Tuesday.

Massie filed a privileged impeachment resolution last Tuesday accusing Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors tied to the Iran war and other military operations.

Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana then sent the House home for a seven-week recess, delaying any vote until after Election Day.

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Thom Tillis has been a longtime critic of Pete Hegseth.

Tillis renewed the demand after former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned following clashes with Hegseth over senior Army leadership and other department changes.

Tillis had already urged Trump to install a Pentagon chief who would keep and empower military talent rather than drive it out, and he has said he has never seen more inept management of the men and women in uniform.

He also told reporters the criticism was not personal and pointed to his earlier work as a management consultant who was hired to identify what companies needed to fix.

Trump has given no public indication he intends to replace Hegseth.

Impeachment would require the House to take up Massie's resolution when lawmakers return, then send articles to the Senate for a trial.

Tillis made it clear he would also accept the faster path of firing by the POTUS. However, Trump has given no public indication he intends to replace Hegseth, and Republican leaders have appeared to have shown little appetite for an impeachment vote before November.