Republican lawmaker says Hegseth 'makes Kristi Noem seem like a 5-star recruit' in blistering takedown

Source: The Independent

Sunday 24 May 2026 17:37 EDT


Republican Sen. Thom Tillis slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s handling of the Iran war, saying that he makes “Kristi Noem seem like a 5-star recruit.”. The North Carolina lawmaker, who is retiring at the end of his current term, spoke out Sunday against Hegseth’s handling of the ongoing war with Iran and the reported peace deal that the Trump administration claims is nearly reached.

Tillis told CNN’s State of the Union that the deal comes after Hegseth claimed the U.S. “obliterated” Iran, noting that the secretary was “in a position to, pretty much, dictate terms.”. “When you see these mistakes made by Hegseth…With all of these mistakes in total, it’s beginning to make Kristi Noem look like a five-star recruit,” Tillis said.

Tillis, a frequent critic of Trump, suggested that the reported details of the agreement represent a shift in the administration’s stance on the war. "We were told about 11 weeks ago, by (U.S. Defense ​Secretary Pete) Hegseth and the Department of Defense, that they had obliterated Iran's defenses and it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material," Tillis said. "Now we're talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran. How does that make sense at all?"

The supposed deal, which would see the Strait of Hormuz reopen, had largely been negotiated, although Iran had not yet agreed to give up its uranium.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/thom-tillis-slams-hegseth-kristi-noem-b2982881.html