In Stepping Aside, Sen. Thom Tillis Goes Way of Other Republicans Who Have Challenged Trump
- On Sunday, Senator Thom Tillis announced his retirement at the end of 2026, just 12 hours after Trump threatened to back a primary challenger.
- Tillis voted against the bill, citing Medicaid cost shifts to North Carolina taxpayers, prompting Trump’s threat to endorse a primary challenger within 12 hours.
- Evidence shows Medicaid cuts would shift billions to North Carolina taxpayers, highlighting Tillis’s electoral vulnerability with a narrow 2020 reelection margin.
- Trump celebrated Tillis’s retirement, while Tillis expressed feeling liberated to speak freely without campaign pressures.
- Tillis announced his retirement in 2026, signaling a broader GOP retreat influenced by Trump’s growing control over candidate selection and party direction.
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Exits by Tillis and Bacon demonstrate Trump’s enduring grip on modern GOP
The looming departures of North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon represent the latest retreat by members of the Republican mainstream and another sign of President Donald Trump’s firm grip on his party. Tillis, especially, surprised political observers over the weekend when he announced his retirement after getting slammed by Trump over his opposition to the president’s signature domestic policy legislation. “Trump is grow…

In stepping aside, Sen. Thom Tillis goes way of other Republicans who have challenged Trump
Flake. Corker. Romney. And now, Tillis. The list of Republican senators who have called it quits rather than endure a political career sideways with Trump is long and still growing.
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis in stepping aside goes the way of other Republicans who have challenged Trump
Flake. Corker. Romney. And now, Sen. Thom Tillis. The roll call of Republican senators in the U.S. Congress who have called it quits, rather than endure a political career sideways with U.S. President Donald Trump, is long, notable -- and apparently, still growing.

In stepping aside, Sen. Thom Tillis goes the way of other Republicans who have challenged Trump
Jeff Flake. Bob Corker. Mitt Romney. And now, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The roll call of Republican senators who have called it quits rather than endure a political career sideways with President Donald Trump is long and apparently, still growing.
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