Tillis Announces Retirement Hours After Drawing Trump’s Ire for Refusing To Back ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

Senator Tillis of North Carolina will not seek re-election in 2026, he announced on Sunday just hours after President Trump threatened to throw his weight behind a Republican primary challenger. Mr. Tillis was viewed as the most vulnerable GOP incumbent up for re-election next year.Mr. Tillis voted against a motion to proceed to debate the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the Senate late Saturday, citing concerns about cuts to Medicaid that would shift billions of dollars in additional costs to his state’s taxpayers. He said he could not hamper his constituents that way, given his past experience as a state house speaker. In a statement on Sunday, Mr. Tillis said that while it was a “blessing” to be able to represent his state in the Senate, he was not looking forward to six more years of “political theatre” and “partisan gridlock.”“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,” he said in a statement. “It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election.”“I look forward to solely focusing on producing meaningful results without the distraction of raising money or campaigning for another election,” he added. He is the seventh senator and the third Republican to announce plans to retire ahead of 2026. One other lawmaker, Senator Bennett, will leave the chamber if he wins Colorado’s gubernatorial election next November. Mr. Tillis’s announcement comes just 12 hours after Mr. Trump issued a threat to back a Republican primary challenger. The president was not happy that Mr. Tillis had voted to block his signature domestic legislative package. “North Carolina will not allow one of their Senators to GRANDSTAND in order to get some publicity for himself,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social after Mr. Tillis voted against the procedural motion on Saturday.In a separate post, Mr. Trump said he was planning to meet with other Republicans who would consider running against Mr. Tillis in the primary. “Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Mr. Trump said. “I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina.”Mr. Tillis has been viewed as by far the most vulnerable Republican up for re-election, considering the president won the state by only three points last year. Mr. Tillis won re-election in 2020 by just less than two points.

Tillis Announces Retirement Hours After Drawing Trump’s Ire for Refusing To Back ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

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