WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump threatened to find a Republican candidate to challenge Sen. Thom Tillis after the North Carolina lawmaker opposed his legislative package.
Tillis had voiced concerns about Medicaid cuts in the Senate version of the bill. He voted June 28 against starting debate on the legislation.
Trump said in a social post that “numerous people” want to run against Tillis.
“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,” Trump said.
Trump noted that he won North Carolina in three presidential campaigns. Trump promoted tax cuts and border security among the provisions to support in the legislation.
While the vote was still open, Trump blasted Tillis in social media posts for “making a BIG MISTAKE.”
Trump accused Tillis of trying to “GRANDSTAND in order to get some publicity for himself.”
Tillis, who faces reelection in 2026, is serving in his second term in the Senate after serving as speaker in the state House of Representatives. Tillis said there was a lot to like in the bill but that it would result in North Carolina losing tens of billions of dollars in federal funding.
“The Senate version of the One Big Beautiful bill contains significant changes to Medicaid that would be devastating to North Carolina, and I cannot support it,’ Tillis said in a social media post. “The Senate should go back to the House’s commonsense approach to Medicaid reform to enact work requirements while protecting care for those who truly need it.”
In 2020, Trump got nearly 100,000 more votes than Tillis when both were on the ballot. Trump got 2,758,775 votes and Tillis got 2,665,598, according to the North Carolina Board of Elections.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump threatens to find GOP primary opponent to Sen. Thom Tillis
