Tillis Demands Bipartisan Pentagon Briefings After Hegseth Exclusion

Sen. Thom Tillis criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for excluding Democrats from classified Pentagon briefings, warning that such brevity could backfire if Democratic votes are needed to pass funding; Tillis urged a bipartisan briefing for all 100 senators as Hegseth pushes large defense-budget requests amid Iran-related tensions, while noting Tillis’s own role in a forthcoming memoir critical of Trumpworld. The Pentagon says it works with Congress to fund the armed services and that Hegseth and other senior officials regularly engage with lawmakers, with the department seeking roughly $1.5 trillion from Congress.