I'm speechless.
The roll call vote is here.
Using their magic eraser, the Trump tax cuts will cost $0 going forward.
I'm speechless.
The roll call vote is here.
Using their magic eraser, the Trump tax cuts will cost $0 going forward.
NC GOP Senator Tillis Announces Resignation After Clash With Trump
Fox News is almost as bad:
Thom Tillis announces retirement from Senate after clash with Trump
The truth: ... The North Carolina Republican announced on Sunday that he would not seek reelection in the 2026 cycle. ...
Thom is still there, hopefully to vote Nay again today on Trump's big, ugly charade of a reconciliation bill, and will be there for eighteen more months, and there's not a damn thing Trump can do about it.
He will be a potent second potential Nay vote in the US Senate on everything with Rand Paul.
Tillis won’t run for reelection in North Carolina
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Sunday announced he will not seek reelection to the Senate next year, firing a political shock wave into the midterm cycle after he said he would oppose President Trump’s mammoth tax package. ...
Trump megabill narrowly advances in Senate despite two GOP defections
Senate Republicans on Saturday narrowly voted to advance a sprawling 1,000-page bill to enact President Trump’s agenda, despite the opposition of two GOP lawmakers.
The vote was 51-49.
Two Republicans voted against advancing the package: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who opposes a provision to raise the debt limit by $5 trillion and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who says the legislation would cost his state $38.9 trillion in federal Medicaid funding.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) changed his “no” vote to “aye,” and holdout Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) also voted yes to advance the bill.
The bill had suffered several significant setbacks in the days and hours before coming to the floor, at times appearing to be on shaky ground.
The vote itself was also full of drama. ...
Flashback to May 25 when Johnson said he had enough votes in the Senate to stop the bill:
GOP senator says resistance to Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' could stop it in the Senate
President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson are hopeful for minimal modifications in the Senate to the "One Big, Beautiful Bill" passed by the House last week, but one Republican senator said there's enough resistance to halt the bill unless there are significant changes.
"The first goal of our budget reconciliation process should be to reduce the deficit. This actually increases," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, urging deeper spending cuts than those in the bill to reset to a "reasonable, pre-pandemic level of spending."
"I think we have enough to stop the process until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit," Johnson said. ...
Didn't even have him!
The phenomenon is mirrored in the states by the enthusiasm for referenda, aka ballot measures, which are promoted as democracy but are in fact simply a reflection of elected representatives' desire to escape the consequences of their votes.
"Hey, don't look at me, that's what the people wanted".
7 GOP senators sign on to bill to check Trump’s trade authority
Seven Republican senators, including Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the Senate’s president pro tempore, and Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), the former Senate Republican leader, have signed on to a bipartisan bill that would require Congress to approve President Trump’s steep tariffs on trading partners.
Grassley and McConnell have joined five other Republicans — Sens. Jerry Moran (Kan.),
Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Todd Young (Ind.) and
Susan Collins (Maine) — in supporting the Trade Review Act of 2025. ...
It would require that new tariffs sunset after 60 days unless Congress passes a joint resolution approving them.
And it provides a pathway for Congress to cancel tariffs before the 60-day period expires by passing a joint resolution of disapproval.
Trump has already threatened to veto the bill. ...
Trump last week announced reciprocal tariffs on more than 180 countries and territories by invoking his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Yeah, that saying everything is an emergency business has got to go, too
Republicans press Trump to resume military, intelligence aid to Ukraine
... Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) ...
... Susan Collins (R-Maine) ...
... One Republican senator who requested anonymity called the threat to deport thousands of Ukrainian refugees excessively “punitive.” ...
... Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he doesn’t support the decision to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine. “I disagree with it,” he said. ...