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Tillis calls Hegseth confirmation vote "biggest regret" in book and 60 Minutes interview

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who cast the deciding vote to confirm Pete Hegseth, now calls that vote the "biggest regret of my career". Newsweek reports he says Hegseth should resign; the Washington Examiner covers the passage in his new book.

2 outlets · 0L · 1C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Newsweek
Image: Washington Examiner

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is retiring, has called his vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary the "biggest regret of my career". Centre · 1Newsweek says Tillis made the comments in a CBS 60 Minutes interview tied to the release of his new book, and that CBS reported he believes the Pentagon chief should step down. Right · 1The Washington Examiner reports the regret appears in the book, How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents, due out Tuesday, in which Tillis also names Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard as nominees he wishes he had opposed.

Right · 1Tillis writes that he spent the hours before the vote looking for a "smoking gun" to pry votes away from Hegseth, who had been accused of heavy drinking and domestic abuse. He did not want to be the "lone voice in the wilderness" once broader GOP opposition failed to appear, and he was the deciding vote. Right · 1He says he was pressured by Donald Trump Jr., a last-minute White House visit, and Vice President JD Vance, who asked for his vote as a "personal favor". Centre · 1Tillis voted to confirm Hegseth in January 2025, praising his military service at the time. In July 2025 he called Hegseth "amateurish" over a pause in weapons shipments to Ukraine but said he did not regret the vote.

Centre · 1His criticism grew through 2026: in May he accused Hegseth of "impulsive decisions" and surrounding himself with "yes-men"; in July he said Hegseth had "lost my confidence"; and in September, after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned, he urged Trump to find a new Pentagon leader. Right · 1The Examiner says the book is the first time Tillis has described the vote as a mistake, though he had called for Trump to remove Hegseth in September over personnel decisions. Centre · 1On 60 Minutes Tillis also criticised Hegseth's handling of the Iran conflict, saying Hegseth probably did not heed his best military advice after the first strike's success, and called Kristi Noem and Hegseth "poster children" for people who should never have had their authority.

Mixed · 2Tillis says others in his party went along with early Trump demands fearing for their careers, and that Republicans could have opposed some nominations and spared the nation turmoil. He rarely attacks Trump directly in the book, faulting advisers instead, and says he still respects the president. Centre · 1Trump defended Hegseth in July, saying "I think he's done a great job". Newsweek said it had asked Tillis' office, the White House and the Pentagon for comment on the latest remarks, and no response is reported.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Newsweek frames it as a reversal: Tillis moves from defending his vote to regret and a call for resignation, within a wider break with the Trump administration.
Emphasis
Timeline of Tillis' escalating criticism of Hegseth, the Iran war, Pentagon turmoil and Trump's loyalty tests.
Leaves out or plays down
Little on the book's contents, Kennedy and Gabbard, or the pressure Tillis faced before the vote.
Charged language
“publicly reversed”“increasingly public break”
For example
“has publicly reversed his support for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth” — Newsweek
“The Hegseth dispute has unfolded against the backdrop of a much broader split between Tillis and the Trump administration.” — Newsweek

Right1 outlet

Framing
The Washington Examiner treats it as an introspective book story: Tillis's final months and his confessions about Cabinet votes, with his book's sharp language about Trump aides.
Emphasis
Book details: the pressure before the Hegseth vote, regrets over Kennedy and Gabbard, insults aimed at aides, and his prediction of GOP electoral losses.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the 60 Minutes interview or an explicit call for Hegseth to resign in this vote-regret context; his earlier statements on Hegseth are only briefly noted.
Charged language
“introspective note”“MAGA extremists”“psychopathic”
For example
“is finishing his final months in the Senate on an introspective note” — Washington Examiner
“rarely takes a direct shot at the president in his book, choosing instead to fault advisers” — Washington Examiner