
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis won’t seek reelection after opposing Trump tax bill
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GOP Sen. Thom Tillis won’t seek reelection after opposing Trump tax bill
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis says he will not seek reelection next year. Tillis was one of two Republican senators who voted against beginning debate on the tax and spending bill. President Donald Trump threatened Tillis with a primary challenge for opposing his massive tax and immigration plan.
Tillis — who has served two terms in the Senate — emphasized that what he is most proud of are the “bipartisan victories” that he was able to secure, including his work to “pass the largest investment in mental health in American history, passing the Respect for Marriage Act and monumental infrastructure investments, and reestablishing the Senate NATO Observer Group.”
Tillis was one of two Republican senators who voted Saturday night against beginning debate on the tax and spending bill that is Trump’s top legislative priority. Tillis said in a statement that he couldn’t support the measure in its current form because it “would result in tens of billions of dollars in lost funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities.”
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Later Saturday night, Trump attacked Tillis on Truth Social, warning that he would face consequences in next year’s election.
After Vote Against Trump Bill, Tillis Says He’ll Leave Senate
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis announced he won’t run for reelection next year. The announcement came hours after Tillis voted against President Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill. Tillis said the decision was between “spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time” with his family. Potential GOP candidates for the seat include Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley and Vice Chair Lara Trump.
The campaign figured to be a tough one for Tillis, per Politico. In a Saturday night post, Trump said he’d look for someone over the next few weeks to run against Tillis in the primary while slamming his opposition to the bill. On Sunday, Trump called the senator a “talker and complainer, not a doer.” Tillis had said he would oppose the Senate version of the bill because of its “devastating” cuts to Medicaid, per the Hill. He voted against opening debate on the legislation on Saturday night.
Potential GOP candidates for the seat include Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley and Vice Chair Lara Trump. The state’s congressional delegation has several freshmen who could run, per Axios, such as Reps. Pat Harrigan, Tim Moore, and Brad Knott. Democratic Rep. Wiley Nickel has declared, and national party leaders want former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to join the race, per Politico. “When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer,” Tillis said Sunday, per NBC News. “But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure them.”
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/29/thom-tillis-trump-reelection/