Thom Tillis has trashed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amid the Iran war. The Republican Senator said his repeated mistakes make a previously fired Kristi Noem seem impressive by comparison. Here’s what the Republican Senator had to say about Hegseth.
Tillis compares Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem
The retiring North Carolina lawmaker told CNN on Sunday that the administration’s shifting Iran policy and confused military planning have eroded his confidence in the Pentagon chief. Thom Tillis went on to contrast Hegseth and Kristi Noem, the former Homeland Security secretary dismissed by Donald Trump in March. “With all of these mistakes in total, it’s beginning to make Kristi Noem look like a five-star recruit,” Tillis quipped.
The senator’s frustration is about what he described as a stark reversal on Iran. Hegseth had previously stated the US “obliterated” Iranian defences and was positioned to dictate terms. Now, the administration appears ready to accept a deal allowing nuclear material to remain in Iranian hands.
“We were told about 11 weeks ago by Hegseth and Department of Defense that they had obliterated Iran’s defences and it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material,” Tillis said. “Now we are talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran? How does that make sense at all?”
Iran’s Fars news agency reported Sunday that any agreement would also grant Tehran control over the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway handles roughly 20 percent of global oil supplies, and Iranian shipping restrictions have already driven US petrol prices up.
Tillis also faulted Hegseth for the Pentagon’s handling of troop deployments. The Defence Department initially cancelled plans to send thousands of soldiers to Poland, only to reverse course later. Support for Ukraine has fluctuated in a similar pattern.
However, earlier this year, the Republican Senator had criticised Noem over delayed disaster relief funds for North Carolina and her department’s response after federal immigration officers fatally shot two US citizens in Minneapolis.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
