GOP senator intends to see Pete Hegseth 'fired' before year's end: 'Christmas wish list'

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has a new item on his holiday wish list: the firing of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

In a wide-ranging interview with Politico Magazine published Friday, the retiring North Carolina Republican made clear he wants Hegseth gone before he leaves the Senate at the end of the year — and he didn't mince words about why.

"I'd love to see Pete Hegseth fired because he's incompetent and doing a horrible job," Tillis said. "That's kind of on a Christmas wish list."

Tillis, who announced last year he wouldn't seek a third term, said his main priority for his remaining seven months in office is getting Republicans reelected in November — including flipping the House back to GOP control. But ousting the embattled Pentagon chief is clearly a personal mission.

"As critical as I am of Republicans, a Democrat-controlled Washington concerns me more," Tillis told POLITICO. "It may seem counterintuitive, but every once in a while, you've got to recognize when your party's having problems you want to correct them before it matters, and that is on Election Day."

The senator also blamed Hegseth for the chaotic messaging surrounding the U.S. strikes on Iran, saying the defense secretary "misinformed" President Donald Trump on the challenges of the operation.

"I suspect that Hegseth cast aside concerns he was hearing from some of the finest people that ever served in uniform and took his cowboy-ish approach to going into Iran," Tillis said. "I'm glad the president did what he did in Iran. I'm not glad that he has Hegseth advising him on the details."

Tillis pinned the administration's muddled public posture on the defense secretary directly: "Are we in a war? Are we not in a war? Are we in a cease-fire? Are we not in a cease-fire? Do we have a deal? Do we not have a deal? Are they going to have nuclear capabilities? Are they not going to? All of that I'll lay at the feet of Pete Hegseth and his incompetence."

The broadside is the latest in an escalating war of words between Tillis and the Pentagon chief. Earlier this month, the senator went scorched-earth on Hegseth over reported plans to downgrade the Army's top command in Europe and Africa and push out four-star Gen. Christopher Donahue, blasting the moves as "amateur hour at best and deadly at worst."

In that lengthy X post, Tillis accused Hegseth of disrespecting "our greatest allies and some of our best military professionals with impulsive decisions not grounded in reality or good judgment." He urged the defense secretary to ditch his "mediocre yes-men" and surround himself with "more patriots like General Donahue."

Tillis told CNN over the summer that Hegseth was "out of his depth" running the Pentagon, calling his decision to halt weapons shipments to Ukraine "amateurish" — a striking reversal for a senator who voted to confirm Hegseth in January 2026 after a contentious 51-50 confirmation vote.

Asked whether the White House is factoring electoral consequences into its decisions, Tillis didn't hold back.

"I believe that there are people in the White House who couldn't care less about what happens in November, and that goes to show you how stupid they are," he said.