Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told President Donald Trump he would not be seeking reelection to a third term in 2026 minutes before the president threatened on social media to find someone to run against Tillis in the Republican primary because of his opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Tillis voted Saturday night against a motion to advance the legislation in the upper chamber over concerns about how Medicaid reforms would affect his constituents. At 9:54 p.m., seven minutes before Trump's post on Truth Social, a text shared with The Hill between Trump and Tillis indicated Tillis told the president about his plans not to seek reelection.
"[Acknowledge,] Mr. President," Tillis said in the message. "Start thinking about my replacement."
Tillis told reporters at the Capitol on Sunday night that his quarrel with Trump over the bill wasn't the deciding factor in his decision.
"I didn't really start this Congress assuming I was going to run for reelection, but you've got to work hard and keep your options open," he said, according to The Hill. "That's what I did, and [Saturday] night felt like a good night to pull the trigger."
He added, "President Trump and I talked [Saturday] night. I left assuming that we had a meeting of the minds, and then that didn't turn out. This was something I'd been contemplating, so it just seemed like the right time to let him know that I wouldn't be running again."
Tillis pointed out the text to reporters, maintaining he made his decision before Trump's primary threat, The Hill reported. He also informed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., of his decision Saturday night.
Before talking to reporters, Tillis made a fiery speech on the Senate floor, telling colleagues and Trump they were making a big mistake with their plan to lower an existing federal cap on provider taxes, which would lead to a deeper cut to Medicaid than the freeze in the House-passed measure that Tillis preferred.
Tillis attacked healthcare "amateurs" advising Trump who have "no insight into how these provider tax cuts are going to be absorbed without harming people on Medicare." He also said it is "inescapable that this bill in its current form" will "betray" Trump's promise not to cut Medicaid.
The White House did not comment to Newsmax regarding a conversation between Trump and Tillis before Trump's Truth Social post. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during Monday's briefing, which aired live on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 free online streaming platform, that Tillis is "wrong" about his assessment.
"Well, he is just wrong, and the president and the vast majority of Republicans who are supportive of this legislation are right," Leavitt said. "This bill protects Medicaid, as I laid out for you, for those who truly deserve this program: the needy, pregnant women, children, sick Americans who physically cannot work."
She added, "And what it does is it ensures that able-bodied Americans who can work 20 hours a week are actually doing so and that will therefore strengthen and protect those benefits for Americans who need it, as well as cutting out the waste, fraud, and abuse as well as getting 1.4 million illegal aliens off of the program.
"So all of those measures are actually going to protect it for those who need it. That's the president's position, and that's what this bill does. And that's why Republicans need to vote for it and get it to the president's desk."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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