RINO Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina announced Sunday that he will not seek reelection, just one day after voting against President Donald Trump’s One Big, Beautiful bill—a move that has placed him squarely at odds with the conservative base and the America First agenda.
Tillis, one of only two GOP senators to oppose the bill on Saturday, cited “cuts to healthcare programs” as the reason for his vote. But many conservatives saw it differently: another establishment Republican unwilling to support much-needed reforms and reductions to bloated entitlement programs.
In a carefully worded statement drenched in political platitudes, Tillis portrayed himself as a victim of a partisan climate that punishes “bipartisanship” and “independent thinking.”
“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 wrote, in what many interpreted as a veiled jab at the conservative populist shift within the GOP.
“Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party, but I wouldn’t have changed a single one,” he added—essentially bragging about siding with Democrats on key issues throughout his Senate tenure.
President Trump didn’t hold back in his response, torching Tillis on Truth Social for his betrayal of the Republican base. Trump accused the senator of “grandstanding” for media attention and threatened to campaign against him if he had stayed in the race.
“Tillis is a talker and complainer, NOT A DOER,” Trump posted. “He votes against progress, then wants credit for doing nothing. After last year’s floods, he disappeared. North Carolina deserves better.”
Trump’s criticism reflects broader frustration among grassroots conservatives who see Tillis as a relic of the pre-MAGA GOP—more concerned with media appearances and corporate donors than the needs of working-class Americans.
The senator’s announcement comes at a time when Trump’s legislative priorities—like the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which features massive military funding, serious cuts to unnecessary welfare, and the largest border enforcement expansion in decades—are being undermined not just by Democrats, but by squishy Republicans too afraid to take bold action.
Tillis, who was first elected in 2014, had been expected to run for a third term in 2026. But after Saturday night’s vote, in which he aligned with Democrats to stall Trump’s bill, it became clear that he would face intense primary pressure from the right. Rather than fight for his seat, Tillis chose to retreat, hoping to exit before the full weight of conservative backlash came down on him.
With Tillis bowing out, the 2026 North Carolina Senate race is now wide open—creating an opportunity for a true America First conservative to take his place and restore the priorities of the people, not the D.C. elite.
As Trump continues to reshape the GOP into a party of bold leadership and national revival, the days of Republicans like Thom Tillis—career politicians who pride themselves on compromise while the country burns—are coming to a well-deserved end.