Republican Senator Thom Tillis ripped Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth as ‘inept’ amid leadership turmoil at the Pentagon.

Tillis dropped the dig in a lengthy tweet calling for President Trump to replace Hegseth following the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who clashed with the Pentagon chief over his tenure.

He said that Hegseth did not have ‘the same priorities and forward-thinking’ as Driscoll and was instead losing ‘talented leaders,’ creating a ‘void at the top of our military ranks.’

Tillis then accused Hegseth of ‘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,’ making two allusions to alcohol.

‘I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,’ he said of Hegseth, whom Tillis added is ‘intimidated by competence.’

Hegseth pledged in 2024 that ‘there won’t be a drop of alcohol on my lips’ as he served as Secretary of War under Donald Trump after a deluge of negative stories highlighting his consumption.

Tillis also urged Trump to ‘find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it.’

Tills, who is retiring from the Senate in January after clashing with Trump, was one of the 50 votes to confirm Hegseth in a split vote decided by Vice President JD Vance.

Lame duck Republican Senator Thom Tillis (pictured) ripped Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and appeared to reference rumors surrounding his alcohol consumption

Hegseth (pictured) pledged in 2024 that ‘there won’t be a drop of alcohol on my lips’ as he served as Secretary of War under Donald Trump after a deluge of negative stories highlighting his consumption

A spokesperson for the Pentagon declined to comment when reached by The Daily Mail. 

The Daily Mail has also reached out to the White House and Senator Tillis for comment. 

Driscoll said his last full day as US Army secretary was Wednesday, but his social media post offered no explanation for why he is stepping down after 18 months as the service’s civilian leader.

Tensions between Driscoll and Hegseth have been widely reported, and some of Driscoll’s allies in the Army were ousted this year by Trump’s Pentagon chief.

Driscoll spoke with Trump on the current state of the military before he submitted his resignation this week.

The Washington Post reported that Trump encouraged Driscoll to stay at least through the midterms.

The secretary met with Trump last week and unloaded his concerns about how the Secretary of Defense is managing the Army, The Atlantic reported.

Sources told the magazine that Trump was surprised by how many military leaders and generals were fired or forced out or denied promotions by Hegseth.

Tillis dropped the dig in a lengthy tweet calling for Trump to replace Hegseth following the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll (pictured), who clashed with the Pentagon chief over his tenure

Driscoll (pictured second from left) spoke with Trump on the current state of the Army before he submitted his resignation this week

Trump was reportedly concerned by what Driscoll described as deep cuts to senior leadership in the Army and the force’s inability to complete a needed transformation.

He ended the meeting by telling the President that he was set to resign. 

A spokesperson for the White House disputed how the meeting was characterized.

Driscoll is a friend of Vice President JD Vance and has good relationships with both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, with the Post even reporting he hopes to be involved with a potential Vance 2028 presidential campaign. 

His exit comes as the US military has returned to launching airstrikes against Iran after a lull in hostilities during the more than six-month-old war, leaving the nation’s largest fighting force without top civilian or uniformed leaders who have been confirmed by the Senate. 

It was not immediately clear who would fill Driscoll’s role at least temporarily.

Hegseth in April ousted the Army’s top uniformed leader, General Randy George, an ally of Driscoll. 

He has purged more than a dozen senior officers, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General James Slife and the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse. 

Driscoll has disagreed with Hegseth on a number of issues, including the Defense Secretary’s moves to block the promotion of several Army officers and the April ouster of a key Driscoll ally

Driscoll has disagreed with Hegseth on a number of issues, including the Defense Secretary’s moves to block the promotion of several Army officers and the April ouster of a key Driscoll ally, Chief of Staff Randy George

General Christopher LaNeve took over as the Army´s acting chief of staff and recently pulled the plug on a drone modernization program that Driscoll had championed.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter this week to Driscoll and LaNeve to express ‘deep concerns’ about eliminating the specialized drone unit and to request a briefing from the Army to explain its decision.

As Army secretary, Driscoll was a major force behind efforts to cut the red tape so military contractors could quickly develop more drones and counter-drone capabilities as modern warfare evolves.

Driscoll also was tapped last year for the unusual assignment of key negotiator to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly noted Driscoll’s role in those negotiations in Monday’s statement on his resignation, adding that Driscoll provided ‘outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality.’

Both Republicans and Democrats have lamented Driscoll’s resignation, while some used it as an opportunity to criticize Hegseth’s leadership.

Any concerns were absent from Driscoll’s post on X late Tuesday night, which was his first public statement since the White House confirmed his departure Monday. 

Driscoll said it has been ‘the honor of a lifetime’ to serve as Army secretary under Trump and Hegseth.

Both Driscoll and George’s jobs require majority approval from the Senate. A former Hegseth aide, General Christopher LaNeve (pictured), has been working as the interim replacement for George

The firing of George (pictured) earlier this year by Hegseth means the Army will no longer have a Senate-confirmed leader, as Donald Trump has yet to nominate a replacement for George

He praised the soldiers, their families and the Army’s civilian workforce for helping ‘modernize and accelerate how the Army mans, trains, and equips the most lethal fighting force on the face of the earth.’

‘We could not have made the progress we did without the support of Secretary Hegseth,’ he added. 

Besides George, Hegseth has fired more than a dozen top generals and admirals without explanation since he took office last year.

Sean Parnell, a senior advisor to Pete Hegseth in addition to his role as spokesman, is on the shortlist to take the top role in a dramatic shift of the chain of command, The Hill reported .

Parnell, 45, ‘has a deep bench of supporters throughout the Administration and has worked tirelessly to enable cultural change and accountability in the Pentagon,’ a Pentagon official said.

‘Leveraging his extensive combat and executive experience, he will bring the accountability, change, and engaged transformational leadership the Army so desperately needs at this time.’

An administration official told Time Magazine that Parnell remains hard at work at his current position. 

‘Sean Parnell is 100 percent focused on the job he was appointed to by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth.’

The Pentagon’s top spokesman Sean Parnell (pictured) could be Donald Trump’s choice to replace the departing Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll

Parnell (pictured right), a senior advisor to Pete Hegseth (pictured left) in addition to his role as spokesman, is on the shortlist to take over

Parnell, a decorated former Army Ranger who led a platoon in Afghanistan, penned a memoir of his service in Afghanistan, which became a New York Times bestseller. 

In it, he described being in heavy combat during his tour in 2006 and 2007, and sustaining wounds that prevented him from returning to combat, describing dizziness, having difficulty with motion and becoming forgetful and unsteady on his feet. 

He also has written four action novels, and emerged as a regular guest on Fox News programs before running for Congress in 2020.  

He became a friend of Donald Trump Jr. and a favorite of Trump, even landing a coveted speaking slot at the 2020 Republican National Convention. 

Congressman Brian Mast, a Florida Republican and Army veteran who once volunteered for an Israeli nonprofit, packing medical bags used to treat civilians hit by indiscriminate Hamas rockets, has been reported by multiple conservative outlets as a potential candidate. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to both the Pentagon and the White House for comment.  

The reports of Driscoll’s candidacy on the same day Trump nominated Hung Cao to take over as Secretary of the Navy.