We continue to be puzzled by the actions and statements of Sen. Thom Tillis, now in the thick of discussions and debate about the major budget bill pending in the U.S. Senate.
We don’t usually comment often on national events, but inasmuch as Tillis is, at least ostensibly, supposed to be representing his constituents here in North Carolina, we think we ought to remind him of a few basics.
We were troubled to read this week in The Hill, a legislative news site covering Capitol Hill, that Tillis is allegedly working to undermine the reforms that the Trump administration and House Republicans have been working toward on Medicaid.
Nowhere has government grown faster, or more undeservedly, than in the rapid and major expansion in government-funded medical care.
The reforms being put forward by Trump and the House are intended to rein in this massive outburst in spending.
But Tillis is quoted in The Hill as having lobbied Majority Leader John Thune to avoid deep cuts to Medicaid – with the ostensibly noble Republican objective that failing to do so could cost Republicans control of the House and Senate in the 2026 elections.
Tillis is alleged to have told Thune and Senate colleagues in a weekly luncheon this week that he disagreed with the approach being taken to “tighten” Medicaid spending.
“Thom Tillis got up and he had a chart on what the Senate’s provider tax structure will cost different states, including his. His will lose almost $40 billion. He walked through that and said ‘this will be devastating to my state,’ said a person familiar with Tillis’s blunt exchange with Thune behind closed doors,” according to the report in The Hill.
Does he really think his constituents approve of such expenditures just because the dollars spent (or wasted) happen in North Carolina?
Among the most reasonable, and understandable, of the reforms is to institute a work requirement, so that those who are able-bodied are required to get a job, rather than just live off the government.
Tightening complicated administrative procedures – as well as the obvious fraud of the same individuals applying for Medicaid benefits in more than one state – are among the other reforms being attempted.
But on an increasing number of occasions, we just shake our head in amazement and disbelief at Tillis’ very anti-Republican reactions.
Frankly, the more Tillis strays from conventional conservative principles – as he appears inclined to do on far too many fronts – the more we think Tillis doesn’t need to concern himself with the results of the November 2026 elections.
If he keeps advocating for higher spending, such as refusing to control Medicaid expenses, the more likely it will be that he attracts an actual conservative Republican challenger who might just bump him off in a GOP primary earlier in the year.
And as for whether he gets through a primary, if he’s going to vote like most of the Democrats in the U.S. Senate, we hardly see what difference it makes whether it’s Tillis holding the seat or somebody with an actual Democratic label.
