Thom Tillis announces retirement from Senate after clash with Trump

Sen. Thom Tillis, one of the two Republicans to vote against advancing President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” plans to retire from the Senate at the end of his term.

The North Carolina Republican announced on Sunday that he would not seek reelection in the 2026 cycle. Tillis would have been among the most vulnerable Republicans running next year and faced threats from Trump to face a challenger after his vote against the president’s agenda Saturday night.

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The lawmaker voted against advancing the bill and is likely to vote against final passage, because deep Medicaid cuts inside the colossal bill brought on changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate.

Tillis railed against the slow death of bipartisanship in Washington in a statement.

“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.

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Tillis gave a shout-out to former Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema for their unwillingness to not “cave to their party bosses to nuke the filibuster for the sake of political expediency.”

“They ultimately retired, and their presence in the Senate chamber has been sorely missed every day since,” he said.

“It underscores the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics. When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer,” he continued. “But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure them.”

He said that the choice broke down to spending time with his family, or spending another six years in Washington navigating “the political theater and partisan gridlock.”

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“It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election,” he said.

However, Tillis did give himself wiggle room to rebuke Trump over the next 18 months, as he did earlier this year when he refused to support Ed Martin, the president’s pick to serve as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. The decision scuttled Martin’s nomination. 

“I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit,” he said. 

His decision to retire tees up what will likely be a competitive race in North Carolina, and one that Democrats will look to pounce on quickly.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Maeve Coyle said in a statement shortly after Tillis’ decision that his choice “not to run for re-election is another blow to Republicans’ chances as they face a midterm backlash that puts their majority at risk.” 

“Even Tillis admits the GOP plan to slash Medicaid and spike costs for families is toxic – and in 2026, Democrats will flip North Carolina’s Senate seat,” she said.  

However, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., contended that Trump would remain a huge factor in the upcoming midterm cycle given that he has won North Carolina three times and that the state has been represented by two Republican senators for over a decade. 

“That streak will continue in 2026 when North Carolinians elect a conservative leader committed to advancing an agenda of opportunity, prosperity, and security,” he said. 

It also comes after Trump spent much of Saturday evening blasting Tillis as a “grandstander” and vowing to interview potential primary challengers, while Vice President JD Vance, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and his leadership team worked over holdout 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!”