Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said a recent conversation with President Donald Trump convinced him not to seek reelection.
During an Axios News Shapers event on Wednesday, Tillis said he made a decision about his political future during a talk with Trump about the one, big, beautiful tax cut and spending bill that ultimately was passed by Congress.
"There was just a moment when I was having a discussion with the president," Tillis, 64, told Axios' Stef Kight. "And we've never had a really testy discussion. It's always been very respectful."
"I felt so strongly about what we needed to change in the bill with respect to Medicaid that I needed to take off the table that my election prospects would have any relationship with the extent to which I was going to stand down or otherwise change my position on something that was objectively driven," Tillis said.
"So, I thought it was a good time just to tell the president that he should start looking for a replacement."
Tillis joined GOP Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, in voting against the Senate's passage of the megabill that passed the upper chamber 51-50 after Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.
Tillis said he told Trump he would not be seeking reelection to a third term in 2026 about "10 minutes" before the president threatened on social media June 28 to find someone to run against Tillis in the Republican primary because of his opposition to the megabill.
"North Carolina is a purple state. It's always hard for Republicans to win statewide. It's always the most expensive race in U.S. history. It will be again," said Tillis.
"You have to go through a process and be honest with yourself. I'm not the 'Happy Warrior' type who would run just for the sake of running. I would only run if I was convinced there was a path [to victory]."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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