Remember back when the media used to question whether Donald Trump could get Republicans to work with him? Now, the media seems obsessed with trying to find one that’ll work against him.
To that end, we have Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Tillis opposed President Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” — although not on the basis that it spent too much, like some did. Instead, he opposed it on the basis that it spent too little, which is not quite a complaint any mainstream Republican had.
Tillis was running for re-election in 2026 — until, suddenly, he wasn’t. In the wake of a threat from Trump to primary the senator based on his stand against the bill, Tillis announced late Sunday he wouldn’t be seeking a third term in the upper chamber.
Tillis then took to the floor to give what The Washington Post described as “two fiery speeches” against the bill, which ultimately proved that the decision was probably for the best for the GOP.
“What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding’s not there anymore?” he asked.
Again, if your problem with the “Big Beautiful Bill” is that it doesn’t spend enough on healthcare, it’s probably time for you to go. And, indeed, Tillis said that he was “most proud of … the bipartisan victories” during his career.
“Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me in trouble with my own party, but I wouldn’t have changed a single one,” he said. “In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.”
Of course, the problem with this line of thinking is that the Republican Party has stayed mostly static in its opinions, if somewhat more populist. The Democrats, meanwhile, have become the party of wokeness and not-so-crypto socialism, and thus bipartisanship is making a deal that looks like something the Democrats would have passed four years ago and calling it a victory for compromise — and while the Democrats might give a legislator a pat on the head for doing this while grumbling that they’re still a troglodytic nuisance, that’s not going to win you any fans at home or in your own party.
Or, for that matter, in the White House; Trump noted over the weekend, as debate on the bill dragged on, that Tillis was a “talker and complainer” who was even worse than Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky — the other Republican who voted against starting a debate on the bill, more out of his libertarian beliefs than a conviction that the bill didn’t spend enough.
Are you glad Tillis is leaving the Senate?
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he’d be happy to ensure Tillis saw some primary opposition.
“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Trump wrote in a Saturday night post. “I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.”
In stepping down from the race when all but the most die-hard of political junkies were going to be doing something useful, Tillis decided he was going to spend more time with his family and/or whatever left-wing cable news network pays him the most to be the designated Not That Kind of Republican™ analyst.
“As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven’t exactly been excited about running for another term,” Tillis wrote.
“That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home. It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election.
“I am beyond grateful for the friends I’ve made over the years in North Carolina and our nation’s capital, as well as my amazing staff who are among the very best the Senate has to offer,” Tillis added. “I still look forward to continuing to serve North Carolina over the next 18 months. I look forward to solely focusing on producing meaningful results without the distraction of raising money or campaigning for another election.”
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) June 29, 2025
Of course, this is very slightly true. From the Post: “Tillis was actively running for re-election to keep his seat ahead of his abrupt announcement on Sunday. He raised $2.3 million in the first quarter of the year, and his team sent out notices last week about a July 10 meeting on his re-election, according to a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal campaign plans.”
So he liked it enough to raise a decent chunk of money in a state where the last Democratic senator to win an election did so in 2008. Moreover, he made the decision as these kinds of posts were legion on conservative social media:
Well well well…
Thom Tillis voted for the Biden agenda more than almost every Republican.
40% of the time he voted with the Dems.
Thom voted for the $1 trillion money laundering “Infrastructure Bill”.
Now Tillis votes against POTUS Trump’s and MAGA agenda.
He’s got to go. pic.twitter.com/mY2bmY8wP2
— C3 (@C_3C_3) June 29, 2025
Thom Tillis routinely fought to increase American intervention abroad while rejecting border security at home. He has also been a chief obstacle to the timely confirmation of President Trump’s nominees.
His retirement is a golden opportunity to make North Carolina’s senators… pic.twitter.com/lrFL9Vaz5E
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 29, 2025
As for Trump you can tell the story in two Truth Social posts: “Great News! ‘Senator’ Thom Tillis will not be seeking reelection,” read one. “ONE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, is moving along nicely! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” read another.
Look, the “Big Beautiful Bill” may not be perfect, but it comes the closest to delivering what the president needs to deliver via the messy process of reconciliation. Not only that, but it’s demonstrated how far Donald Trump has come in the eight years since he first took office: He’s a man who knows how to get things done and to get candidates who are to his liking in the Senate.
If you’re going to be a Republican In Name Only, that’s not going to fly the way it might have in 2017. Back then, the RINOs held the White House by the nose. This time, it’s the other way around. Tillis took a stand against making America great again. MAGA hit back a lot harder — hard enough that he capitulated quickly and almost without effort.
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