Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has thrown a wrench into President Trump’s ambitious spending package, calling out flaws in the legislation that he claims violate a key pledge made by the president.
The North Carolina senator delivered a blistering critique from the Senate floor Sunday, warning that the bill’s Medicaid provisions would undercut Trump’s own promise to protect the program.
Tillis, who announced over the weekend that he will not seek reelection, made clear he will not support the bill in its current form.
“What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding’s not there anymore, guys?” Tillis said.
“I think the people in the White House… advising the president are not telling him that the effect of this bill is to break a promise.”
Tillis said he had confronted the White House with data projecting the impact of the bill’s provider-tax changes, claiming even Trump’s policy team admitted he was correct—but responded dismissively, saying North Carolina would “have to make it work.”
Directing his concerns at Trump himself, Tillis warned that advisers were shielding the president from the reality of how the legislation would affect vulnerable Americans.
“Now Republicans are about to make a mistake on health care and betraying a promise,” Tillis stated.
“It is inescapable that this bill in its current form will betray the very promise that Donald J. Trump made in the Oval Office or in the cabinet room, when I was there with finance, where he said, we can go after waste, fraud, and abuse on any programs.”
He took aim at White House health care advisers, accusing them of misleading the president.
“Now, those amateurs that are advising him — not Dr. Oz, I’m talking about White House health care experts — refuse to tell him that those instructions, that were to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, all of a sudden eliminates a government program that’s called the provider tax,” he added.
The bill in question also includes a controversial amendment led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and backed by other Senate Republicans.
The provision would slash an additional $313 billion from Medicaid by denying the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to able-bodied adults without dependent children enrolled in Medicaid expansion states. The change would begin in 2031.
Tillis also took issue with the speed at which the Senate was moving to meet Trump’s July 4 deadline, arguing that more deliberation was needed.
He said he found the House version of the bill more acceptable and that it should have served as the starting point for negotiations.
“I am telling the president that you have been misinformed,” Tillis said. “You supporting the Senate mark will hurt people who are eligible and qualified for Medicaid.”
Despite his opposition to the Senate version, Tillis praised certain elements of the legislation.
“I love the work requirement. I love the other reforms in this bill. They are necessary, and I appreciate the leadership of the House for putting it in there,” he said.
“In fact, I like the work of the House so much that I wouldn’t be having to do this speech if we simply started with the House mark.”
“I’ve talked with my colleagues in North Carolina. I know that we can do that,” he added.
“And I believe that we can make sure that we do not break the promise of Donald J. Trump, that he’s made to the people who are on Medicaid today.”
Tillis closed by reaffirming his stance: he will not cast a vote in favor unless his concerns are addressed.
“We owe it to the American people, and I owe it to the people of North Carolina, to withhold my affirmative vote until it’s demonstrated to me that we’ve done our homework, we’re going to make sure that we fulfill the promise,” he said.
“And then I can feel good about a bill that I’m willing to vote for. But until that time, I will be withholding my vote.”
President Trump was thrilled about Tillis’ announcement that he won’t seek reelection.
“Great News!” Trump wrote in a Sunday Truth Social post.
In his retirement statement, Tillis said he was ready to move on from the Senate.
“As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven’t exactly been excited about running for another term,” Tillis remarked.
“That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home.”
“It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election,” he said. “I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability.”
Pass the damn bill Tillis. From one of the people not in North Carolina and not freeloading on my dime.