{"id":908222,"date":"2026-05-25T13:21:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/tillis-vows-to-keep-blocking-fed-nominee-and-says-trump-should-apologize-for-pope-attacks\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:21:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:21:57","slug":"tillis-vows-to-keep-blocking-fed-nominee-and-says-trump-should-apologize-for-pope-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/tillis-vows-to-keep-blocking-fed-nominee-and-says-trump-should-apologize-for-pope-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Tillis vows to keep blocking Fed nominee and says Trump should apologize for pope attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON \u2014 During an interview with Fox News\u2019 Maria Bartiromo that aired Wednesday, President Donald Trump suggested Sen. Thom Tillis, a centrist Republican who has occasionally broken with the president, \u201calready quit\u201d the Senate and wouldn\u2019t be a factor in confirming his nominees.<\/p>\n

But Tillis is still here. And as a member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, he\u2019s exercising his ability to single-handedly block Kevin Warsh, Trump\u2019s nominee to replace Jerome Powell as the head of the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n

In an extensive interview with NBC News, Tillis called Warsh \u201ca perfect candidate,\u201d but maintained that he would not vote to confirm him until the Trump administration ends its federal criminal probe into Powell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Sen.<\/picture>
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., in his office Tuesday.<\/span>Frank Thorp V \/ NBC News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Warsh\u2019s confirmation hearing to replace Powell is scheduled for next week, and he cannot be confirmed without Tillis\u2019 vote, as long as Democrats remain unified against Trump\u2019s pick.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s criticism of and threats to fire Powell<\/a>, who has refused his pressure to cut interest rates. Instead, he suggested \u201csomebody in DOJ\u201d was going after Powell to \u201cmaybe garner favor from somebody in the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n

Powell has denied wrongdoing and a federal judge last month blocked subpoenas<\/a> in the probe, citing “essentially zero evidence.”<\/p>\n

End the probe, he said, \u201cand 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 \u2026 264 days in my tenure in the U.S. Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“If I were running for re-election, I\u2019d probably use a few different words,” Tillis said.<\/span>Frank Thorp V \/ NBC News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tillis shot back at critics: \u201cNow some people can say, \u2018OK, Thom, you made your point. Jay Powell\u2019s term expires as chair in May, so why not go ahead and fill it?\u2019 Because I don\u2019t want to reward bad behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tillis, who is retiring at the end of the year, said he\u2019s lost his \u201cfilter\u201d while discussing everything from the war with Iran (he\u2019s unclear \u201cwhat the strategic objectives are\u201d) to Trump\u2019s AI-generated Jesus meme (he takes the president at his word that he thought it portrayed him as a \u201cdoctor\u201d and not the son of God). \u201cIf I were running for re-election, I\u2019d probably use a few different words, try to communicate the same thing, like I did in Trump one,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I just don\u2019t have to deal with that filter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s fight with the pope<\/h2>\n

While Tillis accepts Trump\u2019s defense of the since-deleted Truth Social post portraying the president as a Christ-like figure, it\u2019s Trump\u2019s fight this week with the head of the Catholic Church that the senator can\u2019t comprehend.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo say soft on crime or soft on the border, that\u2019s 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,\u201d Tillis, who is Catholic, said.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI, for one, think apology is an underused in art and politics,\u201d Tillis added. \u201cWhen you\u2019re wrong, you\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skepticism on Iran war<\/h2>\n

Since the beginning of the war with Iran, Tillis has given Trump \u201clatitude\u201d on the operation, he said. He\u2019s voted against multiple efforts from Democrats and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky to rein in the president\u2019s military actions.<\/p>\n

But now, nearly seven weeks into the conflict, Tillis is concerned that the Trump administration has not articulated its goals \u2014 and he doesn\u2019t see a resolution anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s concerning me now is we\u2019re coming up on the 45-day mark. Sixty days is important with respect to the war powers resolution, and I\u2019m not quite clear what the strategic objectives are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Beyond the 60-day mark, Tillis said, \u201cit\u2019s going to be difficult to get my support\u201d to continue the conflict.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Tillis said the Trump administration needs to provide more details of its goals in Iran.<\/span>Frank Thorp V \/ NBC News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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As Americans are seeing an average nationwide increase of 38% for a gallon of gas, according to AAA<\/a>, Tillis urged the administration to \u201cshare the details with us. Start by sharing details with the committees of jurisdiction,\u201d suggesting that none of the briefings officials held with lawmakers have been sufficient.<\/p>\n

The war is estimated to have cost more than $30 billion so far<\/a>. When the time comes to replenish military coffers, the administration will ask Congress to approve additional funding. Tillis said, \u201cI\u2019ve got to see the detail,\u201d but added, \u201cI\u2019m not a no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a fiscal conservative, and I hope my Republican colleagues will be too, and expect the same sort of basic oversight questions,\u201d he continued. \u201cNot this \u2018Don\u2019t worry about the details. We\u2019ve got it.\u2019 That\u2019s not how our government works when we\u2019re at our best.\u201d<\/p>\n

On November\u2019s elections<\/h2>\n

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\u2019s second term: \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the noise, to Tillis, is Trump\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Items in Tillis’ office Tuesday.<\/span>Frank Thorp V \/ NBC News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI 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 \u2018I told you so\u2019 to some of these people who think that it\u2019s not going to have a long-term impact on some of these process changes, and I think we\u2019ll live to regret it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just be honest with this. In a purple state like this, you need to be on message. There is no room for error,\u201d 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. \u201cOn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tillis said he would campaign for Whatley if he \u201cwants my help\u201d but will largely focus on the downballot races in his state.<\/p>\n

\"Tillis<\/picture>
Tillis in the Capitol on Tuesday.<\/span>Frank Thorp V \/ NBC News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As for whether he would ever return to politics, it\u2019s a flat-out \u201cno\u201d for Tillis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019ve decided, you know, the U.S. Senate, there\u2019s really not much else to go. And whether it\u2019s governor or president, it requires a security detail. And I never want a job that requires a security detail,\u201d he said. \u201cI like my privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to getting back in business. I\u2019m 65, I\u2019ll probably work for another eight or 10 years at pretty much the pace I\u2019m doing now, if I can find the right opportunity, and I\u2019m looking forward to that chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 15, 2026, 5:24 PM EDT\u00a0\/\u00a0Updated\u00a0April 15, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT WASHINGTON \u2014 During an interview with Fox News\u2019 Maria Bartiromo that aired Wednesday, President Donald Trump suggested Sen. Thom Tillis, a centrist Republican who has occasionally broken with the president, \u201calready quit\u201d the Senate and wouldn\u2019t be a factor in confirming his nominees. But<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":908223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24480,138439],"tags":[5998,138438],"class_list":["post-908222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-blocking","category-tillis","tag-blocking","tag-tillis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}