President Trump blasted North Carolina GOP Senator Thom Tillis Saturday night for voting against his “big beautiful” tax-and-spending bill – as a key procedural vote to advance the measure stalled in the Senate and Republican leaders scrambled to drum-up last-minute support.
“Looks like Senator Thom Tillis, as usual, wants to tell the Nation that he’s giving them a 68% Tax Increase, as opposed to the Biggest Tax Cut in American History!” Trump wrote on Truth Social as the official Senate vote to advance the multi-trillion dollar mega bill went on for roughly three hours without resolution Saturday night.
“America wants Reduced Taxes, including NO TAX ON TIPS, NO TAX ON OVERTIME, AND NO TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY, Interest Deductions on Cars, Border Security, a Strong Military, and a Bill which is GREAT for our Farmers, Manufacturers and, Employment, in general.
“Thom Tillis is making a BIG MISTAKE for America, and the Wonderful People of North Carolina!”
Trump, who has lobbied for House and Senate Republicans to fast-track the legislation so it lands on his desk by his self-imposed July 4 deadline, posted the heated rant shortly after Tillis cast his opposing vote on the Senate floor.
The final vote has not yet been certified but two other Republican senators — Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rand Paul (R-KY) — also refused to support the measure during the rare weekend session to move the matter to debate.
But the commander in chief only took aim at the Tar Heel State lawmaker.
With a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, the GOP can only afford to lose three votes and still pass the package with a tie-breaking ballot cast by Vice President JD Vance.
Vance arrived at Capitol Hill around 8:30 p.m. and has since been on standby, ready to cast his deciding vote, if needed.
If the measure passes, debate will begin on the spending bill — and that could take hours as Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York has promised to have the nearly 1,000-page measure read before a final vote on passing it can happen.
Trump warned potential dissenters earlier Saturday that refusal to support his bill would be an “ultimate betrayal.”
The bill would make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, end taxation on tips and overtime, boost border security funding and scraps green-energy tax credits passed during the Biden administration.
The legislation would also have to raise the debt ceiling by roughly $5 trillion in order to cram in all the provisions.
Tillis has previously said he was going to vote against the megabill, absent changes his Republican colleagues have so far refused to make to Medicaid, which has been a sticking point in the party.
“We can and must do better than this,” said Tillis, who called on the Senate to adopt the more “commonsense” approach to Medicaid outlined in the earlier House bill.
Trump, in a follow-up post, threatened to find another candidate in the coming weeks to primary Tillis after turning his back on the mega tax-and-spending bill.
“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Trump truthed.
“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!”
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