GOP senator bows out of reelection after Trump pledges to back challenger over bill betrayal

A Republican senator stated that he will not seek re-election after drawing President Donald Trump’s ire by defying the One Big Beautiful Bill.

On Saturday night, Trump rebuked North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis on Truth Social.

‘Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis.’

Tillis cited a crackdown on states dodging the 50-50 state-federal Medicaid reimbursement for his no vote, claiming the proposed provider-tax rules “would be devastating to North Carolina.”

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Sen. Thom Tillis. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“It would result in tens of billions of dollars in lost funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities,” Tillis stated. “This will force the state to make painful decisions like eliminating Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands in the expansion population, and even reducing critical services for those in the traditional Medicaid population.”

The senator noted that there were “a lot” of other aspects about the bill that his constituents would “love,” including the Trump tax cuts, increases to the child tax credit, “historic funding for border security,” and termination of “wasteful spending.”

Trump responded to the senator’s criticisms of the One Big Beautiful Bill by saying he would support one of Tillis’ challengers in next year’s election.

“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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

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Senator Thom Tillis and U.S. President Donald Trump. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In a separate post, he accused Tillis of failing to “understand the importance of a Debt Extension.”

Trump continued, “I can’t believe that the Great People of North Carolina, a State that I love and won all three times, and a State that I just brought back with money, blood, sweat, and tears, from the recent tragic floods, when Sleepy Joe Biden let them DROWN, right up until the end of that Administration, without doing anything — I was given an A+ Rating for the job we did in bringing it back, and Tillis, despite being a Republican, was MISSING IN ACTION — North Carolina will not allow one of their Senators to GRANDSTAND in order to get some publicity for himself, for a possible, but very difficult Re-Election.”

On Sunday, Tillis made a shocking announcement, declaring that he would not seek reelection.

The senator stated, “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.”

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

Editor’s note: This article has been edited after publication to include Sen. Tillis’ announcement he will not seek re-election.

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