Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina blames “third parties,” not the president-elect, for pressure on senators to fall in line behind Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks.
“I don’t believe that it’s coming directly out of Mar-a-Lago,” Tillis said of the pressure campaigns in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
Tillis, who is up for reelection in 2026, is seen as one of the Republican senators most likely to potentially stand in the way of Trump’s more controversial picks.
“A lot of this are third parties,” Tillis said. “Here’s what I would tell them: If they really support President Trump’s nominees, they should stand down and let the nominees win on their own merits — and I think most of them will.”
“Pete Hegseth had a good week this week on Capitol Hill. I’m working with Kash Patel,” Tillis said, referring to Trump’s choices for defense secretary and FBI director, which are among his most controversial.
Tillis also defended his colleague, GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who has come under fire from the right for her hesitance to support Hegseth. The military veteran and former Fox News host faced a sexual assault allegation in 2017 and claims of excessive drinking in the past. Hegseth was never charged in the assault case and denies wrongdoing.
“Anyone who wants to challenge her in a primary for being thoughtful needs to be held accountable for that sort of garbage,” Tillis said of Ernst, who has been vocal in the past about being a sexual assault survivor.
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