I know Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is in the ‘senioritis’ stage of his public life, but c’mon, man. Leave with some dignity, because he had to have known, or at least his staff did, that this tweet was going to cook him alive on Twitter. The North Carolina Republican decided to weigh in on the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, taking a swipe at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth:

Our understanding and assumptions of warfare are being challenged in places like Ukraine and Iran, and Dan understands the old way of doing business no longer applies. He and General George began a transformative period of innovation in how we array our forces and equip our Soldiers. He challenged our legacy approach to manning and procurement. Most of all, he cared deeply about the men and women in our Army formations and quickly earned their respect. 

If we had a @SecWar [Hegseth] who maintained the same priorities and forward-thinking, he would be fighting to retain talented leaders like Dan and the many flag officers he has forced into retirement. Instead, he is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks. 

I served on Senate Armed Services for 8 years and as chair or ranking member of the Personnel and Readiness subcommittee. I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country. He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.

The comments were brutal, not least because Tillis voted to confirm Hegseth. Sure, he tried to derail the nomination, but that effort was scrapped when it was exposed, and he was forced to fall in line. Second, Democrats don’t like you, Thom; they never will. You betrayed the base by being a thorn in the side during the big battles, most recently the nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general, and you’re trying to ingratiate yourself with liberals you’ve hated for years. 

You made enemies on both sides of the river. 

What were you thinking here, man?