Donald Trump celebrated the news that North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis will not seek re-election when his term is up in 2026 and fired a warning shot to his fellow Republican rebels.
Tillis drew the ire of Trump Sunday over his opposition to the president’s ‘big, beautiful’ budget bill currently making its way through the U.S. Senate.
The president wrote on Truth Social Sunday afternoon: ‘Great News! ‘Senator’ Thom Tillis will not be seeking reelection.’
He then warned any other members of the GOP who were not on board with the bill due to how much they believe it would add to the debt that they would have to face the voters after it became a success.
‘For all cost cutting Republicans, of which I am one, REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected. Don’t go too crazy! We will make it all up, times 10, with GROWTH, more than ever before,’ he said.
Tillis was one of two Republican senators who voted against the ‘motion to proceed’ on Trump’s budget bill Saturday evening, along with Kentucky Republican Rand Paul. Paul was still trumpeting his refusal to vote for the bill on Sunday.
The North Carolina Republican made his announcement earlier Sunday, via a statement shared by his political team.
‘As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven’t exactly been excited about running for another term,’ Tillis wrote.
Donald Trump (pictured) celebrated the news that North Carolina Senator Thom Tills will not seek re-election when his term is up in 2026
Tillis (pictured) drew the ire of Trump Sunday over his opposition to the president’s ‘big, beautiful’ budget bill currently making its way through the U.S. Senate
‘That is true since 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.
‘It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election,’ he added.
In a post made to his social media site Truth Social Sunday morning, President Trump came after Tillis, claiming that he ‘hurt the great people of North Carolina’ and calling him a ‘talker and complainer.’
‘Thom Tillis has hurt the great people of North Carolina. Even on the catastrophic flooding, nothing was done to help until I took office. Then a Miracle took place! Tillis is a talker and complainer, Not A Doer! He’s even worse than Rand ‘Fauci’ Paul,’ Trump wrote on Sunday morning.
Tillis, who was set to face a reelection fight in a critical swing state next year in the 2026 midterms, raised significant concerns this week over the budget bill’s deep cuts to Medicaid.
Tillis shared projections that his state could lose $38.9 billion, impacting more than 600,000 North Carolinians.
Cutting Medicaid was seen by a number of Republicans as a way to pay for the president’s policy agenda, which includes increases in areas such as border security, which the White House asked to be at $150 billion.
Notably, Republican leaders in Tillis’ own state said they were willing to work with the hand they were dealt by Washington.
Trump, pictured in 2020 at a rally with Tills, then fired out a warning shot to any other Republican rebels who want to defy the bill
North Carolina’s State Senate Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger wrote on X, formerly Twitter Saturday that he supports ‘@realDonaldTrump’s Big Beautiful Bill and the legislature will work through any implementation issues.’
Tills’ decision creates a political opportunity for Democrats seeking to bolster their numbers in the 2026 midterm elections, creating a wide-open Senate race in a state that has long been a contested battleground.
North Carolina is state that Trump has narrowly won in all three of his elections, yet still sees Democrat leadership at the state level, making it a swing state.
It is also home to a number of nationally prominent Republicans who could be frontrunners to replace Tillis, such as National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Richard Hudson and Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley.
Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump – wife of his son Eric – is also from the state, and could potentially make a bid for the seat. After serving as the RNC Co-Chair in 2024, Lara Trump is now the host of My View with Lara Trump on Fox News.
The North Carolina Republican Party chairman, Jason Simmons, said the party wishes Tillis well and ‘will hold this seat for Republicans in 2026.’
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the campaign arm for Senate Republicans, did not mention Tillis in a statement but said the party’s winning streak in North Carolina will continue. Scott noted that Trump won the state three times.
Tillis rose to prominence in North Carolina when, as a second-term state House member, he quit his IBM consultant job and led the GOP’s recruitment and fundraising efforts in the chamber for the 2010 elections.
In a post made to his social media site Truth Social Sunday morning, President Trump came after Tillis, claiming that he ‘hurt the great people of North Carolina’ and calling him a ‘talker and complainer’
Tillis was one of two Republican senators who voted against the ‘motion to proceed’ on Trump’s budget bill Saturday evening, along with Kentucky Republican Rand Paul (pictured)
Republicans won majorities in the House and Senate for the first time in 140 years.
Tillis was later elected as state House speaker and helped enact conservative policies on taxes, gun rights, regulations and abortion while serving in the role for four years.
He also helped push a state constitutional referendum to ban gay marriage, which was approved by voters in 2012 but was ultimately struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.
In 2014, Tillis helped flip control of the U.S. Senate to the GOP after narrowly defeating Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan.
During his more than a decade in office, he championed issues such as mental health and substance abuse recovery, Medicaid expansion and support for veterans.
As a more moderate Republican, Tillis became known for his willingness to work across the aisle on some issues.
That got him into trouble with his party at times, most notably in 2023 when North Carolina Republicans voted to censure him over several matters, including his challenges to certain immigration policies and his gun policy record.
‘Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party,’ Tillis said, ‘but I wouldn’t have changed a single one.’
