Unlike former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) — who expressed her disappointment with President Donald Trump by leaving Congress altogether in early January — Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) plans to serve out the rest of his term. But Tillis is equally frustrated with the Republican Party, and he is among the many GOP lawmakers who decided against seeking reelection in the 2026 midterms.
Tillis isn't a full-fledged Never Trumper; he tried to work with the second Trump Administration. But he is now speaking out against Trump's policies frequently. And in an opinion column published on February 9, the New York Times' Frank Bruni observes that Tillis is having a lot of fun "going rogue."
"There's going rogue, and then there's going rogue with a thesaurus in one hand and a movie glossary in the other," the columnist writes. "Tillis seems intent on making his complaints about the Trump Administration's errors and overreach as memorable as possible. He also seems to be having a blast. There he was on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' on Wednesday morning, mischief in his voice as he called the Justice Department's investigation of Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve Board, 'frivolous,' 'vindictive' and 'trumped-up.' And there he was on Politico's 'The Conversation' the week before that, his eyes twinkling as he mused about the bafflingly low profile and dubious utility of Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence…. He's sassing. He's smiling."
Bruni adds, "The liberation of a conscience does wonders for a man."
Tillis, Bruni argues, embodies a conservative Republican who is frustrated with Trumpism and is experiencing "partial liberation" by speaking out.
"Tillis, 65, is no profile in unfettered courage," Bruni says. "He's in the final year of his second term and not running for reelection, so he needn't worry about some ultra-MAGA hellion taking him on in a primary and getting Trump's endorsement. He also bears some responsibility for all the damage the Trump Administration has done. He voted to confirm (Homeland Security Secretary Kristi) Noem, Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., (FBI Director) Kash Patel and, most notoriously, (Defense Secretary) Pete Hegseth, whose bid to become defense secretary Tillis reportedly tried to scuttle until Trump made the magnitude of his displeasure with that clear. But over recent weeks, Tillis has reconnected with a past version of himself — the spirited maverick who found common cause with Democrats and emphasized common sense over strident partisanship…. I've heard some political observers speculate that Tillis is selfishly looking ahead to a post-Trump era when Republicans who raised alarms about the president's policies and conduct will be rewarded for that or at least judged more kindly by history."
Bruni continues, "Maybe so. But Tillis will certainly have to weather ample ugliness from the MAGA faithful in the meantime. Just ask Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger. So I choose to compliment him. To thank him. And to hope that his example encourages some of the toadies, flunkies and bootlickers in the halls of Congress to rethink their sycophancy."