WASHINGTON — During an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that aired Wednesday, President Donald Trump suggested Sen. Thom Tillis, a centrist Republican who has occasionally broken with the president, “already quit” the Senate and wouldn’t be a factor in confirming his nominees.
But Tillis is still here. And as a member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, he’s exercising his ability to single-handedly block Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell as the head of the Federal Reserve.
In an extensive interview with NBC News, Tillis called Warsh “a perfect candidate,” but maintained that he would not vote to confirm him until the Trump administration ends its federal criminal probe into Powell.
Warsh’s confirmation hearing to replace Powell is scheduled for next week, and he cannot be confirmed without Tillis’ vote, as long as Democrats remain unified against Trump’s pick.
Tillis blasted the investigation, saying Powell did nothing wrong. He said he takes the president at his word that he was not involved in opening the investigation, despite Trump’s criticism of and threats to fire Powell, who has refused his pressure to cut interest rates. Instead, he suggested “somebody in DOJ” was going after Powell to “maybe garner favor from somebody in the White House.”
Powell has denied wrongdoing and a federal judge last month blocked subpoenas in the probe, citing “essentially zero evidence.”
End the probe, he said, “and I will vote for Kevin Warsh simultaneously with the conclusion of that statement coming out of the DOJ, and not a day before, and not for the remaining … 264 days in my tenure in the U.S. Senate.”
Tillis shot back at critics: “Now some people can say, ‘OK, Thom, you made your point. Jay Powell’s term expires as chair in May, so why not go ahead and fill it?’ Because I don’t want to reward bad behavior.”
Tillis, who is retiring at the end of the year, said he’s lost his “filter” while discussing everything from the war with Iran (he’s unclear “what the strategic objectives are”) to Trump’s AI-generated Jesus meme (he takes the president at his word that he thought it portrayed him as a “doctor” and not the son of God). “If I were running for re-election, I’d probably use a few different words, try to communicate the same thing, like I did in Trump one,” he said. “But I just don’t have to deal with that filter.”
Trump’s fight with the pope
While Tillis accepts Trump’s defense of the since-deleted Truth Social post portraying the president as a Christ-like figure, it’s Trump’s fight this week with the head of the Catholic Church that the senator can’t comprehend.
“To say soft on crime or soft on the border, that’s what you say to an opponent in the next election. Or, you know, maybe a presidential or prime minister candidate in some other country, but not to the pope of the Catholic Church,” Tillis, who is Catholic, said.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance have only doubled down on criticism of Pope Leo XIV, repeatedly lashing out after the pope spoke out against the war with Iran.
“I, for one, think apology is an underused in art and politics,” Tillis added. “When you’re wrong, you’re wrong, or if you made a mistake, or maybe it was just a misconception, just get past it. Move on. This president has done so many positive things that I want to focus on.”
Skepticism on Iran war
Since the beginning of the war with Iran, Tillis has given Trump “latitude” on the operation, he said. He’s voted against multiple efforts from Democrats and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky to rein in the president’s military actions.
But now, nearly seven weeks into the conflict, Tillis is concerned that the Trump administration has not articulated its goals — and he doesn’t see a resolution anytime soon.
“What’s concerning me now is we’re coming up on the 45-day mark. Sixty days is important with respect to the war powers resolution, and I’m not quite clear what the strategic objectives are,” he said.
Beyond the 60-day mark, Tillis said, “it’s going to be difficult to get my support” to continue the conflict.
As Americans are seeing an average nationwide increase of 38% for a gallon of gas, according to AAA, Tillis urged the administration to “share the details with us. Start by sharing details with the committees of jurisdiction,” suggesting that none of the briefings officials held with lawmakers have been sufficient.
The war is estimated to have cost more than $30 billion so far. When the time comes to replenish military coffers, the administration will ask Congress to approve additional funding. Tillis said, “I’ve got to see the detail,” but added, “I’m not a no.”
“I am a fiscal conservative, and I hope my Republican colleagues will be too, and expect the same sort of basic oversight questions,” he continued. “Not this ‘Don’t worry about the details. We’ve got it.’ That’s not how our government works when we’re at our best.”
On November’s elections
The retiring lawmaker has one overarching message for the rest of his party ahead of the November elections that will determine the balance of power for the rest of Trump’s second term: “We have to think only, in my opinion, about the priorities of the members of the U.S. Senate who are up for re-election and the priorities that will get them re-elected. Everything else is noise and everything else is a threat to good execution.”
Among the noise, to Tillis, is Trump’s pressure on his colleagues to nuke the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship at the ballot box. Tillis remains steadfast that he would not vote to get rid of the 60-vote threshold required to pass most legislation in the Senate.
“I hope that I live to a ripe old age, mainly because I want to see my grandbabies grow up, but in part is because I want to say ‘I told you so’ to some of these people who think that it’s not going to have a long-term impact on some of these process changes, and I think we’ll live to regret it,” he said.
Despite his hesitation to criticize Trump directly, Tillis said it may not be helpful for the president to campaign for Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee to fill his seat, in a centrist state like North Carolina.
“Let’s just be honest with this. In a purple state like this, you need to be on message. There is no room for error,” Tillis said, asking an aide to toss him a football with the results of his 2020 narrow victory over Democrat Cal Cunningham printed on it. “On a big day, a landslide in North Carolina for a Republican is usually somewhere between 1 and 2 points. And so you have to absolutely be spotting the landing.”
Tillis said he would campaign for Whatley if he “wants my help” but will largely focus on the downballot races in his state.
As for whether he would ever return to politics, it’s a flat-out “no” for Tillis.
“Well, I’ve decided, you know, the U.S. Senate, there’s really not much else to go. And whether it’s governor or president, it requires a security detail. And I never want a job that requires a security detail,” he said. “I like my privacy.”
“I’m looking forward to getting back in business. I’m 65, I’ll probably work for another eight or 10 years at pretty much the pace I’m doing now, if I can find the right opportunity, and I’m looking forward to that chapter.”