Well, We Knew This GOP Senator Was Going to Screw Us

The Senate is taking up the reconciliation package, and there’s already drama. You know about the Democrat Senate Parliamentarian taking a hatchet to the ‘big, beautiful bill,’ but some Senate Republicans—enough to derail the legislation—are wary about the Medicaid tweaks and some matters on public lands. Yet, we could always count on Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) to be the quarterback in stabbing us in the back:

GOP NC Sen Tillis on Big, Beautiful Bill:

I will always do what is in the best interest of North Carolina, even when that puts me at odds with my own party. When Senate leaders of my party presented this bill, I did what every American should expect from their U.S. Senator: I…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 28, 2025

I will always do what is in the best interest of North Carolina, even when that puts me at odds with my own party. When Senate leaders of my party presented this bill, I did what every American should expect from their U.S. Senator: I worked to gather the facts and comprehensively analyze what the impact would be on the people I swore an oath to represent.
“I did my homework on behalf of North Carolinians, and I cannot support this bill in its current form. It would result in tens of billions of dollars in lost funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities. This will force the state to make painful decisions like eliminating Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands in the expansion population, and even reducing critical services for those in the traditional Medicaid population.
“We can and must do better than this. The Senate should return to the House’s Medicaid approach. That plan includescommonsense reforms to address waste, fraud, and abuse, and implements work requirements for some able-bodied adults to ensure taxpayer-funded benefits are going to our most vulnerable neighbors.
“There is a lot for North Carolinians to love about the rest of the One Big Beautiful Bill, including extending the historic Trump Tax Cuts, increasing the child tax credit, providing historic funding for border security, and ending wasteful spending. We can and must accomplish this without hurting our rural communities and hospitals, and without jeopardizing access to care for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians who need it the most.”