US Senator Thom Tillis (Republican, North Carolina) has publicly urged President Donald Trump to dismiss Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing him of "inept mismanagement" and creating a "leadership void" at the Pentagon. Tillis made the call on Wednesday, linking Hegseth's focus on culture-war issues — such as purging "wokeness" from the military and pushing out senior officers — to broader strains on the US armed forces six months into the ongoing war with Iran, which began on 28 February. The rebuke carries added weight as the conflict has depleted munitions stockpiles, driven fuel prices higher, and pushed the Trump administration's approval ratings down, with more than two-thirds of Americans disapproving of its handling of the war, according to a University of Massachusetts poll.