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NC Senator Won't Seek Re-Election After Clashing With Trump Over 'Big Beautiful Bill'

Sen. Thom Tillis announced he will not seek re-election just hours after voting against President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Sen. Thom Tillis and President Donald Trump

Sen. Thom Tillis and President Donald Trump

Photo Credit: Official Portraits

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Are You In Favor Of The 'Big Beautiful Bill?'

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The North Carolina Republican issued a lengthy statement following his vote against the measure, which passed 51-49.

“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 Sunday, June 29.

“It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election.”

Once a MAGA devotee, Tillis has recently found himself at odds with Trump’s base after publicly criticizing the 1,000-page spending bill for its proposed Medicaid cuts. He said in a post Saturday that the budget would be “devastating” for North Carolina and result in “tens of billions of dollars in lost funding...including our hospitals and rural communities.”

He privately warned his Republican colleagues before Saturday's procedural vote of backlash from cuts to programs such as Medicaid, NBC News reported.  

Trump quickly fired back on his social media platform.

“Looks like Senator Thom Tillis, as usual, wants to tell the Nation that he’s giving them a 68% Tax Increase, as opposed to the Biggest Tax Cut in American History!” Trump wrote. “Thom Tillis is making a BIG MISTAKE for America, and the Wonderful People of North Carolina!”

He followed up with a threat to primary Tillis in what is expected to be a key battleground Senate race in 2026.

“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.”

One of the potential challengers believed to be eyeing Tillis’ seat is Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, NBC News reported.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was the only other Republican to join Democrats in opposing the bill.

Despite passing a procedural vote this weekend, the legislation still faces a long road before reaching Trump’s desk by his self-imposed July Fourth deadline, The Hill reported

Several GOP senators have voiced concerns and are demanding revisions before formally backing the bill, narrowing the Republican majority in the Senate to 53-47.

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