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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing growing criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill as his public standing weakens, with a new Marquette Law School poll showing his favorability among U.S. adults has declined amid mounting scrutiny over his handling of the Iran war.
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said Hegseth has "lost my confidence," citing the forced retirement of senior military leaders and what he described as micromanagement at the Pentagon. Maine Senator Susan Collins, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, called the departures of senior military officials "deeply troubling." West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Iowa Senator Joni Ernst have also warned Hegseth that public patience with the unresolved conflict is wearing thin.
President Donald Trump came to Hegseth’s defense on Thursday, dismissing reports of internal criticism as “false and completely unfounded rumors” and praising Hegseth’s performance at the Pentagon.
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In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was “extremely happy” with Hegseth’s work, citing the administration’s military operations in Venezuela and Iran as examples of his leadership. He also praised Hegseth for what he described as “tremendous improvements” at the Pentagon, including ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and boosting military recruitment.
Hegseth Under Pressure
The criticism from some top Republicans comes as Hegseth’s standing in public polling has declined.
A Marquette Law School poll conducted July 22-29 found Hegseth tied with Trump for the lowest net favorability among administration figures tested, at minus 22 points. Hegseth received a 23 percent favorable rating and a 45 percent unfavorable rating. He was also the least familiar figure in the survey, with 32 percent of respondents saying they had not heard enough about him to form an opinion, despite months leading the Pentagon through the Iran war.
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GOP Senator Says Pete Hegseth Has ‘Lost My Confidence’ as Iran War Drags On
An earlier Marquette poll, conducted May 20-26, painted a stronger picture among Republicans. Hegseth posted a net favorability of plus 36 points, with 55 percent viewing him favorably and 19 percent unfavorably. Even then, however, he ranked last among the four Republican figures tested. Marquette has not released an updated Republican-only breakdown since.
The erosion tracks with a broader enthusiasm gap opening up among Republican voters. In the July poll, 30 percent of Republicans said they were very enthusiastic about voting in November, down from 36 percent in May. Republicans also trailed Democrats in certainty of voting, 65 percent to 70 percent.
Munitions Shortages Fuel New Questions About Hegseth
The polling shift follows a Washington Post report that Trump's frustration over the war boiled over at Camp David last week, where he reportedly demanded that Hegseth explain why he had been misled about severe munitions shortages limiting U.S. military options against Iran. Two people familiar with the exchange told the Post that Trump confronted Hegseth on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting Friday, saying he believed the munitions problem "had been fixed."
The Post reported that Hegseth responded by blaming Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg for the shortages and for failing to keep Trump fully informed. Shortages in long-range guided missiles and air-defense interceptors have been cited as one reason Trump has held off on further large-scale strikes on Iran, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
The White House strongly disputed the account on Wednesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said she was present at Camp David, called the report "100% fake news" and said it "literally never happened." She said Trump has "the utmost confidence" in Hegseth. Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth "did not mislead anyone about our munitions posture" and did not blame Feinberg.
Trump also pushed back on Truth Social, writing that the United States has "massive amounts" of munitions and that more are being manufactured and shipped as needed. He wrote that those he characterized as leakers of the reporting were being "hunted down."
Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for comment on Thursday morning.
The tension marks a shift for a defense secretary whose position had appeared to stabilize after the successful operation to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Hegseth has weathered previous controversies, including the Signal chat breach that became known as Signalgate, without losing Trump's public backing. Pentagon spokesman Parnell said Hegseth "isn't going anywhere" and will continue working alongside Feinberg.
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Republicans Already Grumbling
The dispute follows weeks of mounting Republican criticism of Hegseth's handling of the Iran war, now in its sixth month.
Months before declaring that Hegseth had lost his confidence, Tillis was already expressing concerns about the defense secretary's management style and treatment of senior military leaders.
In May, Tillis issued an unusually blunt warning after reports surfaced that General Chris Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, could be sidelined as part of a broader Pentagon restructuring. At the time, the senator accused Hegseth of making "impulsive decisions not grounded in reality or good judgment." He also urged the defense secretary to surround himself with experienced military professionals rather than "yes-men."
The military has burned through significant portions of its munitions inventory since the war began on February 28. The Post reported the U.S. fired more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles and over 1,000 Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors in the conflict's first month alone, along with more than 1,300 Army tactical ballistic missiles, a stockpile now nearly depleted.
Hegseth, Feinberg and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine have asked Congress for $67 billion in additional funding to replenish stockpiles, a request Senate Republicans have yet to act on.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Sam Wilson.
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