Latest news with #Bipartisanship
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republican Thom Tillis won't ‘bow to anybody' after Trump falling out over Senate megabill
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis pushed back on President Donald Trump's criticisms of him after the president repeatedly criticized him for opposing Republicans' 'One Big, Beautiful Bill.' Tillis spoke to The Independent after delivering a speech on the Senate floor following his shock announcement that he would not seek re-election in the wake of Trump's attacks. 'I respect President Trump, I support the majority of his agenda, but I don't bow to anybody when the people of North Carolina are at risk and this bill puts them at risk,' Tillis told The Independent. Tillis had voted against the motion to proceed on the spending bill on Saturday and had signaled he would oppose its final passage because of the steep cuts to Medicaid. Trump sharply criticized him in a series of Truth Social posts and celebrated Tillis's announcement he would not seek re-election in 2026. 'Great News! 'Senator' Thom Tillis will not be seeking reelection,' Trump said. In an announcement posted on Sunday, Tillis lamented the fact that fewer lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to embrace bipartisanship. Specifically, he decried the fact that Democrats pushed out former senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona for their opposition to the filibuster, while he criticized his own party. 'It underscores the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics,' he said. 'When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer. But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and censure them.' In recent years, Tillis has become a dealmaker, helping to pass criminal justice reform during the first Trump presidency and the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified protections for same-sex and interracially married couples, and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major piece of gun legislation in almost three decades, with Democrats during the Biden presidency. 'I didn't really start this Congress assuming that I was going to run for-re election, but you gotta work hard and keep your options open,' Tillis told The Independent. 'That's what I did,' he said. 'And last night felt like a good night to pull the trigger.' Tillis faced criticism at home from conservatives. Last year, he criticized Mark Robinson, the controversial lieutenant governor and one-time GOP nominee for governor. In 2023, the North Carolina Republican Party censured him. When asked what he thought about Robinson running for his seat, Tillis said 'Minisoldr wouldn't stand a chance,' a reference to the username that Robinson allegedly used to comment on the pornography site Nude Africa. On Saturday evening and Sunday morning, Trump criticized Tillis and threatened to back a Republican primary challenger to knock him out of office. 'Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against 'Senator' Thom Tillis,' Trump wrote. '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.' Trump's presidency put Tillis in a bind in a state that, with rare exceptions, values competent lawmakers compared to firebrands. He struggled with Trump's initial nomination of Matt Gaetz to become attorney general and waited until minutes before the final vote to confirm Pete Hegseth to become secretary of Defense. But he also helped shepherd Kash Patel's confirmation as FBI director as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The announcement is a political earthquake for Republicans as Tillis represents a seat in a perpetual swing state that Trump has only narrowly won in the last three presidential elections. 'Thom Tillis knows his record won't win with North Carolina voters,' Anderson Clayton, the chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, told The Independent in a text message. 'Regardless of who the NCGOP picks in a primary, North Carolina voters are prepared to defend our state against extreme cuts to healthcare, jobs, and education from Washington, D.C.,' Clayton said. The announcement will likely create a free-for-all Republican primary for next year's nomination in the state. On the Democratic side, former congressman Wiley Nickel has already announced his candidacy. Many also expect run from Roy Cooper, the popular former governor of the state who had been floated as a potential running mate to Kamala Harris. But Tillis's announcement also signals Trump's sway within the Republican Party. The Senate is set to vote on the spending bill, which will make major cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and other social safety net provisions to pay for an extension of the 2017 tax cuts that Trump signed into law and Tillis supported. Republicans who break or say they will not support it will likely continue to face more Trump criticism or calls for a primary challenge. In Texas, Ken Paxton, the scandal-ridden attorney general who is running for the Republican nomination against incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn, tweeted at at the senator, 'you next?'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump reacts to Tillis not seeking re-election, sends warning to 'cost cutting Republicans'
President Donald Trump celebrated the retirement announcement of one of the two Republicans who voted against advancing his "big, beautiful bill." "Great News! 'Senator' Thom Tillis will not be seeking reelection," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "For all cost-cutting Republicans, of which I am one, REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected. Don't go too crazy! We will make it all up, times 10, with GROWTH, more than ever before," he continued in a separate post. The North Carolina Republican announced on Sunday that he would not seek re-election in the 2026 cycle. Tillis would have been among the most vulnerable Republicans running next year. He faced threats from Trump to face a challenger after his vote against the president's agenda Saturday night. Scoop: House Republican Eyes Bid For Thom Tillis Senate Seat After Trump Attack The lawmaker voted against advancing the bill and is likely to vote against final passage, because deep Medicaid cuts inside the colossal bill brought on changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate. Read On The Fox News App Thom Tillis Announces Retirement From Senate After Clash With Trump Tillis railed against the slow death of bipartisanship in Washington in a statement. "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," he said. Trump Threatens To Support A Primary Challenger Against Gop Senator For Opposing 'Big, Beautiful Bill' His announcement also comes after Trump spent much of Saturday evening blasting Tillis as a "grandstander" and vowing to interview potential primary challengers, while Vice President JD Vance, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and his leadership team worked over holdout fiscal hawks. "Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against 'Senator Thom' Tillis," Trump said on Truth Social. "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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"Original article source: Trump reacts to Tillis not seeking re-election, sends warning to 'cost cutting Republicans'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reaction to Sen. Tillis retirement: Trump, NC Democrats both seem pleased with decision not to seek reelection
WASHINGTON (AP/WNCN) — Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Sunday he will not seek reelection next year, an abrupt announcement that came one day after he staked out his opposition to President Donald Trump's tax breaks and spending cuts package because of its reductions to health care programs. Trump had already been threatening him with a primary challenge, and posted Sunday that Tillis' announcement was 'Great News!' Trump, in social posts, had berated Tillis for being one of two Republican senators who voted on Saturday night against advancing the massive tax bill. The Republican president accused two-term Senator Tillis of seeking publicity with his 'no' vote and threatened to campaign against him, accusing the senator of doing nothing to help his constituents after last year's devastating floods in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene. 'Tillis is a talker and complainer, NOT A DOER,' Trump wrote. Tillis informed Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Saturday night of his decision to retire. '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,' Tillis said in a lengthy statement. The North Carolina Republican Party chairman, Jason Simmons, said the party wishes Tillis well and 'will hold this seat for Republicans in 2026.' Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the campaign arm for Senate Republicans, did not mention Tillis in a statement but said the party's winning streak in North Carolina will continue. Scott noted that Trump won the state three times. Democrats expressed confidence about their prospects. Former Rep. Wiley Nickel, who announced his candidacy in April, said he was ready for any Republican challenger. 'I've flipped a tough seat before and we're going to do it again,' Nickel said in a statement. Some said Tillis' decision is another sign of the dramatic transformation of the Republican Party under Trump, with few lawmakers critical of the president or his agenda remaining in office. It 'proves there is no space within the Republican Party to dissent over taking health care away from 11.8 million people,' said Lauren French, spokesperson for the Senate Majority PAC, a political committee aligned with the chamber's Democratic members. North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said the announcement came as good news. 'I mean, I think everybody gave a big wahoo when Thom Tillis decided not to run again,' she said. However, Clayton said the party's strategy hasn't changed. 'Making sure that we're activating community members year-round is something that our party's been very focused on,' she said, adding that midterm elections depend on turnout. 'And we're trying to make sure that we're building a 100-county strategy for the state. I want Democrats in every single corner of it.' In his announcement, Tillis said this was not a hard choice, saying, '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.' Clayton provided her view about Tillis' decision. 'He sees a Republican Party that's saying, you know, you need to fall in line. You can't actually stand up for your state. And we need somebody in Congress right now that's willing to do that,' Clayton said. Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst for the John Locke Foundation, said he suspects Tillis was leaning in this direction, but the president's criticism likely factored into his decision. 'Thom Tillis was going to have a hard time getting out of a Republican primary, given the fact that the pro-Trump faction within the Republican Party was really against Tillis and the fact that the much smaller anti-Trump faction wasn't a huge fan of him either,' Kokai said. With Tillis off the ballot, Kokai said this makes the race easier for Democrats and harder for Republicans, with no clear GOP frontrunner to replace Tillis. 'Democrats, who were already seeing this as potentially their best source for a pickup in 2026, will even put a few more circles around North Carolina now,' he said. On the Democratic side, US Congressman Wiley Nickel is already in the race. Many expect former Gov. Roy Cooper to run as well. 'Roy Cooper has won six statewide elections, is generally considered the most popular Democrat in North Carolina,' Kokai said. Clayton said the NCDP, as a political party, does not participate in primaries, but she said she is looking forward to seeing who steps up to run. 'I do think that we've got a lot of really good leaders in the state and a bench in North Carolina that we've not had, honestly, for the last decade in this state,' she said. Kokai did say Tillis' timing could help the Republicans. The party has enough time to rally around a candidate before the campaign season really heats up. Tillis rose to prominence in North Carolina when, as a second-term state House member, he quit his IBM consultant job and led the GOP's recruitment and fundraising efforts in the chamber for the 2010 elections. Republicans won majorities in the House and Senate for the first time in 140 years. Tillis was later elected as state House speaker and helped enact conservative policies on taxes, gun rights, regulations and abortion while serving in the role for four years. He also helped push a state constitutional referendum to ban gay marriage, which was approved by voters in 2012 but was ultimately struck down by the courts as unconstitutional. In 2014, Tillis helped flip control of the U.S. Senate to the GOP after narrowly defeating Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan. During his more than a decade in office, he championed issues such as mental health and substance abuse recovery, Medicaid expansion and support for veterans. As a more moderate Republican, Tillis became known for his willingness to work across the aisle on some issues. That got him into trouble with his party at times, most notably in 2023 when North Carolina Republicans voted to censure him over several matters, including his challenges to certain immigration policies and his gun policy record. 'Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party,' Tillis said, 'but I wouldn't have changed a single one.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


Washington Post
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Democrats are at odds over the Israel-Iran war as Trump considers intervening
After nearly two years of stark divisions over the war in Gaza and support for Israel, Democrats are now finding themselves at odds over U.S. policy toward Iran as progressives demand unified opposition to President Donald Trump's consideration of a strike against Tehran's nuclear program while party leaders tread more cautiously.