The Republican U.S. senator from North Carolina said he won’t run for reelection next year, the second day he opposes a massive budget bill, which is key to President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Thom Tillis, 64, announced that he would leave Congress because he said Washington’s independent thinkers have become “endangered species.”
Trump criticized Tillis for not supporting a Big Bill Act on Saturday and threatened to support other candidates.
The president also condemned other Republican lawmakers who opposed his bill, including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thomas Massi, Congressman.
A final vote on the adoption of the expenditure plan is expected in the coming days. Last month, it narrowly cleared the House.
Tillis has served in North Carolina since 2007 and has been a Senator since 2015.
He said in a statement Sunday that he was proud of his career in public service, especially his so-called “bipartisan victory.”
“Sometimes, those bipartisan moves have caused me to have trouble at my own party, but I won’t change one,” he wrote.
He added that in recent years, the rare sight of “legislators willing to accept a two-party system, compromise and demonstrate independent thinking” in Washington has become a rare sight.
“Too many elected officials are motivated by purely primitive politics, and they really don’t have a curse on the people they promise to represent on the campaign,” Tillis wrote.
On Sunday, Trump called Tillis a “talker and complainer.”
He is one of two Republican senators who voted against Saturday’s push for Trump’s spending and tax cut bill.
Tillis said the legislation cuts Medicaid, a health care program used by millions of people with disabilities and low-income Americans, “destructive” people in North Carolina.
The bill puts forward job requirements for most adults in order to qualify for benefits.
It also reduces taxes states can charge to health care providers, which are heavily used to fund Medicaid.
“I do homework on behalf of North Carolinas and I can’t support this bill in the current form,” Tillis said Saturday. “This will result in North Carolina losing tens of thousands of dollars in funding.”
Republicans supporting the bill dismissed Tillis’ criticism, saying the proposed changes to Medicaid would eliminate fraud and waste and ensure that the plan is feasible in the long run.
The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal agency, estimated late Saturday that the changes would cause nearly 12 million Americans to lose health coverage.
Trump also threatened to support another candidate in the Republican primary ahead of next year’s midterm election, saying he would meet with “numerous” contenders to challenge Tillis.
Lara Trump, the president’s daughter and North Carolina native, may run for a seat, although she has not commented yet, but has speculated.
Trump has issued similar threats to other lawmakers who do not support his trademark bill.
American news media Politico reported on Sunday that anonymous sources said the White House was looking for Thomas Massie’s challenger.
Trump called Massi a “loseman” in a post about the truth social platform last week.
“He voted, ‘No!’ The president wrote: “It’s all in everything because he thought it would make him cool. ”
Health & Wellness Contributor
A wellness enthusiast and certified nutrition advisor, Meera covers everything from healthy living tips to medical breakthroughs. Her articles aim to inform and inspire readers to live better every day.
