Cabinet nominations are the first new Trump test for NC’s Thom Tillis | Opinion
Donald Trump’s second presidency will be a test of every Republican’s loyalty to a man who demands a lot of it. But it will especially be a test for North Carolina’s senior U.S. senator, Thom Tillis, who in recent years has developed a reputation as a “bipartisan dealmaker” in Washington.
That test has already begun. Trump is on a mission to stock his administration with loyalists by nominating controversial and unqualified allies to important cabinet positions — nominations that the Senate will vote to reject or confirm.
Matt Gaetz, who has been investigated for sex trafficking, as attorney general. Tulsi Gabbard, a Russia sympathizer, overseeing spy agencies as director of national intelligence. Anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in charge of public health. A Fox News host with a lack of military leadership experience responsible for national security.
That should be enough to induce a healthy dose of skepticism — if not outright opposition — from any senator. But we haven’t seen that from Tillis, at least not yet.
Tillis told reporters that he’d give Gaetz an “honest look” but acknowledged that the Florida congressman likely has an uphill battle to confirmation in the Senate. Of course, it’s perfectly fair for Tillis to say that he’ll give every nominee a chance. That’s what the confirmation process is for. But it’s also OK for him to express concern about a nominee’s very public baggage or suggest that it’ll take a lot of persuasion to get his vote. That’s something he hasn’t done, and his quip about a “popcorn eating confirmation” downplays the gravity of the moment.
We understand that Tillis is in a difficult position politically. His seat is up for reelection in 2026, and if he chooses to run again, he will almost certainly face a primary challenge from someone who is unhappy with the efforts he’s made to work across the aisle, especially on gay marriage and gun safety legislation. So it may be tempting to cozy up to Trump now in order to protect his political future.
That temptation is something that Tillis has struggled to avoid in the past. Tillis has always been attentive to his political prospects, and far too willing to shift his tone and behavior accordingly. He doesn’t seem to see his choice in the terms we’d like: loyalty to Trump vs. loyalty to his country. He sees it through a lens of what will cost him the least number of voters. He can do the right thing and lose Trump voters that are a big part of the GOP base, or he can be loyal to Trump and lose moderate voters who swing elections in North Carolina.
In the past, Tillis has tried to have it both ways by initially standing up to Trump, only to fold in the end. Playing it down the middle doesn’t make him look decent or reasonable — it just makes everyone think he’s weak.
It’s easy to be a “bipartisan dealmaker” when you have to be — because a Democrat sits in the White House and it’s difficult to make a bill law without his signature. But now that the GOP will have a governing trifecta in Washington, bipartisanship becomes more difficult and more important, because it involves Republicans like Tillis keeping their party from going too far.
We don’t expect much of that from North Carolina’s other senator, Ted Budd, who is as much a Trump loyalist as any of his other acolytes. But Tillis is the one who has prided himself on being an independent thinker — one that answers to his constituents and not the party boss.
We’re a little disappointed that Tillis hasn’t acted like one yet with Trump’s cabinet nominations. But he still has an opportunity to be the thoughtful voice he says he is. Trump certainly expects Republicans to vote a certain way. But North Carolinians do, too, and that’s who Tillis was elected to serve.