Donald Trump is once again reminding Republicans where disloyalty gets you.
The president celebrated on Sunday night shortly after GOP Senator Thom Tillis announced he would not seek re-election next year. A day earlier, the North Carolina Republican had voted against advancing Trump’s signature spending package—the so-called “big, beautiful bill”—incurring the president’s wrath. Trump quickly slammed Tillis in Truth Social posts and threatened to back a primary challenger.
“Great News! “Senator” Thom Tillis will not be seeking reelection,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after Tillis bowed out.
In a follow-up post, Trump suggested that Republicans who oppose his legislative priorities could pay a political price.
“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,” he wrote.
Tillis, 64, responded on X with some politely delivered snark.
“Thanks for the retirement wishes, Mr. President, looking forward to working with you for a successful 2026,” he wrote.
“Word to the wise, let’s avoid minisoldr,” he added, sharing a September 2024 article about Trump’s support for then-North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson.
Robinson, the GOP nominee for governor, lost the race after a scandal involving comments he allegedly posted on a porn forum under the screen name “minisoldr.”
Thanks for the retirement wishes, Mr. President, looking forward to working with you for a successful 2026. Word to the wise, let’s avoid minisoldr. https://t.co/r703B8fEys
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) June 29, 2025
In Tillis’ earlier announcement, he said it had become “increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.”
He said he was not eager to spend another six years “navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington,” and would prefer to spend more time with family.
He intends to continue serving North Carolina for the next 18 months “without the distraction of raising money or campaigning,” and with the “pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit,” he said.
Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, is among the names being floated as a contender to replace him, a source close to the Trump family told NBC News.
Tillis is not the first GOP lawmaker Trump has threatened to primary in recent weeks. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is being targeted by a new pro-Trump super PAC that seeks to unseat him next year, after he voted against the bill in the House and criticized Trump’s strikes on Iran.
The version of the spending bill that the Senate moved forward with on Saturday would add nearly $3.3 trillion to the national debt over a decade, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That’s nearly $1 trillion more than the earlier iteration passed by the House.
The package includes sweeping tax cuts, increased spending on defense and anti-immigration initiatives, and rollbacks to social programs like Medicaid.
The CBO analysis also found that close to 12 million Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill was passed.
Tillis had said the Senate version of the bill “contains significant changes to Medicaid that would be devastating to North Carolina, and I cannot support it.”
He was one of two Senate Republicans to join Democrats in opposing the bill in a 51–49 procedural vote to advance it. The bill now proceeds to full Senate debate, with Republicans aiming to send it to Trump’s desk by July 4 following final House approval.
In a Sunday evening post, Trump encouraged Senate Republicans to overrule the chamber’s parliamentarian—a nonpartisan official who interprets Senate rules—in order to pass key components of his bill.
Democrat Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, slammed the legislation as debate began on Sunday.
“Republicans are about to pass the single most expensive bill in U.S. history, to give tax breaks to billionaires while taking away Medicaid, SNAP benefits and good paying jobs for millions of people,” Schumer said.
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