GOP Sen. Thom Tillis Accuses Pete Hegseth of Creating Pentagon 'Echo Chamber,' Calls Behavior 'Snowflake-ish'

A veteran GOP senator called out Pete Hegseth's "snowflakeish" creation of a Pentagon "echo chamber," pulling up yet another criticism of the embattled defense secretary amid the deeply unpopular war in Iran.

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina ripped into Hegseth in a September 27 appearance on CNN's State of the Union.

"Look, Hegseth demonstrated a kind of snowflakeish behavior when he decided to get out serious press and replace them with an echo chamber over in the Department of Defense," said the 66-year-old Tillis.

The senator was referring to Hegseth's controversial 2025 decision to make press access in the Pentagon contingent on having journalists agree to only publish Department-approved information. All major outlets, including Fox News, refused to sign and surrendered their press badges to the building. In their stead were friendly far-right outlets and conspiracy theorists.

"The antidote to a mean question from the press is a really good, well-founded answer," Tillis continued. "And he needs to believe that support from Congress is the best antidote to the problems he's having right now convincing the American people to stand behind this war effort."

Tillis did not say during his CNN appearance that he opposed the war in Iran; rather, his criticism was directed at Hegseth and the administration’s handling of the conflict.

"What happens every time we get elections that favor one party or the other, that party almost always misreads it as a mandate versus an opportunity to govern," Tillis continued. "What we need to do, is get away from this 'forget the Congress, we've got a mandate.' Consult with Congress, and figure out how we deal with some of these economic challenges. Figure out how we succeed in Iran and Ukraine."

Tillis, long one of the more moderate Republicans in the Senate, is retiring when his current term expires in January. Though he voted to confirm the 46-year-old Hegseth as defense secretary, he has often expressed buyer's remorse as the controversies surrounding the former Fox News host mount.

Throughout September, Tillis has been calling for the removal of Hegseth, either through impeachment or having President Donald Trump fire him. Tillis supported Rep. Thomas Massie's introduction of impeachment articles against Hegseth, though House Majority Leader Mike Johnson never brought Massie's resolution to the House floor.

Tillis is one of several Senate Republicans who are fed up with Hegseth.

Hegseth is seeking congressional approval for a $1.5 trillion budget, but Tillis is among four Republican Senators who stand in the way of his eye-popping request.

"Why is anybody going to blindly appropriate anything to him?” Tillis told Semafor, adding that Hegseth's problem "comes down to relationships, and I don’t think he’s built strong enough relationships."