Trump Responds After Top Republican Senator Won’t Seek Re-Election
President Donald Trump praised the retirement announcement of one of the two Republicans who voted against moving his “big, beautiful bill.”
“Great News! ‘Senator’ Thom Tillis will not be seeking reelection. 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,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
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The North Carolina Republican declared on Sunday that he will not seek re-election in 2026. Tillis would have been one of the most vulnerable Republicans running next year. After voting against Trump’s plan on Saturday night, he received threats to face a challenger.
The legislator voted against advancing the package and is expected to vote against final approval because severe Medicaid cuts in the massive bill resulted in changes to the tax rate for Medicaid providers.
Tillis lamented the creeping demise of bipartisanship in Washington in a statement.
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“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,” he said.
His declaration also comes after Trump spent much of Saturday evening attacking Tillis as a “grandstander” and promising to interview possible primary challenges, while Vice President JD Vance, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and his leadership team negotiated with recalcitrant fiscal hawks.
“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Trump said on Truth Social. “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!”
Thom Tillis is the end of a terrible era in North Carolina politics.
— Matt Hurley (@mhurleyofficial) June 29, 2025
His political defeat is the final nail in the coffin of the North Carolina Republican Party of years passed.
A new era of grassroots leadership in North Carolina is coming……you can count on it. pic.twitter.com/COZkVymIe8
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Trump hailed the passage of his “Big, Beautiful Bill” following a marathon four-hour vote in the Senate that will now allow the measure to advance for debate.
Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who notably changed his vote from ‘no’ to ‘yes,’ stated that the massive bill represents a “necessary first step” toward fiscal sustainability and addressing the challenges left by the Biden administration.
“Biden and the Democrats left behind enormous messes that we are trying to clean up – an open border, wars, and massive deficits,” Johnson said. “After working for weeks with President Trump and his highly capable economic team, I am convinced that he views this as a necessary first step and will support my efforts to help put America on a path to fiscal sustainability.”
The vote was largely 51-49 along party lines, with only Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) opposing the start of a marathon 20-hour debate on the bill. Republicans have a 53-47 seat majority in the chamber.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) claimed the measure is “radical.”
“Senate Republicans are scrambling to pass a radical bill, released to the public in the dead of night, praying the American people don’t realize what’s in it,” he said in a statement. “If Senate Republicans won’t tell the American people what’s in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish.”
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., however, said he was “proud” to work with Trump on the bill and “put our nation on a path to balance the budget after years of Democrats’ reckless spending.”
“We will deliver on President Trump’s agenda and continue Making America Great Again!” Scott wrote.
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Trump has stated that he wants the bill, which must first pass the Senate before moving to the House for a vote, on his desk by July 4. After the Senate vote, he hailed it as a “great victory” and specifically praised Sens. Johnson, Scott, Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) in a post on his Truth Social platform.
