Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) offered harsh criticism for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday over reported changes at the Pentagon, including a shift in U.S. military posture around the globe and the exits of multiple senior military officers in recent months.
“The careless decision to reduce our force posture in Europe, along with moves by Pete Hegseth and his political henchmen to force out some of our finest general officers is amateur hour at best and deadly at worst,” Tillis wrote on the social platform X.
The North Carolina Republican’s comments came after NOTUS reported that the Pentagon plans to downgrade the Army’s top command overseeing Europe and Africa by mid-summer. The command is led by four-star Gen. Christopher Donahue, who was photographed as the last American to leave Afghanistan in 2021.
The changes would see Donahue replaced with a three-star or lieutenant general, according to the outlet, which cited five people familiar with the deliberations.
Tillis described Donahue as “one of our nation’s finest warfighters” and argued any rumored decision from Hegseth to “sideline” him would mark “another step down a dangerous path” if true.
“Hegseth continues to surprise and disrespect our greatest allies and some of our best military professionals with impulsive decisions not grounded in reality or good judgment,” he wrote.
The Trump administration has vowed to shrink the U.S. military presence in Europe and reconsider its collective defense commitments, amid mounting frustration over NATO allies’ reluctance to support the conflict with Iran.
Hegseth ordered the cancellation of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team’s deployment to Poland earlier this week, an unexpected move that halted the movement of 4,000 U.S. troops.
The Pentagon also announced plans earlier this month to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany under pressure from President Trump, who’s been feuding with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over his opposition to the war.
Those decisions came months after the U.S. informed allies that it would also pull some American troops from NATO’s eastern flank, including Romania.
The Trump administration’s approach has drawn bipartisan scrutiny, with Republican chairs of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees arguing that “prematurely reducing” America’s force presence in Europe “risks undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Tillis is part of a growing chorus of GOP senators who have begun to doubt Hegseth’s ability to steer the Defense Department, despite voting for his confirmation last year.
Much of their frustration has centered around the reported dismissals of more than a dozen senior military officers since the start of Trump’s second term, including Navy Secretary John Phelan most recently.
“Keep your word, Mr. Secretary: choose meritocracy over your mediocre yes-men,” Tillis wrote on Saturday.
