Trump hits out at Republican senator for refusing to back ‘big, beautiful bill’

Donald Trump has hit out at Senator Thom Tillis over the North Carolina Republican’s refusal to back his “big, beautiful bill”, even as the president’s signature piece of domestic legislative action narrowly passed a procedural vote in the Senate late Saturday.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump threatened Tillis, who is up for re-election in 2026 in the battleground state, by saying he would meet with potential candidates to challenge him in a Republican primary.

“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run” against Tillis, Trump wrote Saturday night. “I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.”

Tillis was one of two Senate Republicans, along with Rand Paul of Kentucky, to vote against the bill championed by their party’s leader.

Trump accused Tillis of grandstanding “in order to get some publicity for himself, for a possible, but very difficult re-election”. He also wrote that Tillis is making a “BIG MISTAKE for America, and the Wonderful People of North Carolina!”

The threat came hours after Tillis said in a statement that he “cannot support” the current form of the president’s spending bill. He pointed to expected cuts to Medicaid that he said would “result in tens of billions of dollars in lost funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities”.

Tillis earlier told reporters that he had given Trump forewarning of his opposition to the legislation.

“I do believe the president is really focused on getting the tax portion of the bill done, and I support that, full stop,” he said. “But it has evolved from a tax bill to one that includes health care and other things. And I said that in non-tax areas, we have a problem.”

But Tillis waved off the notion of being concerned about Trump backing a primary challenger.

Trump has backed primary challenges against Republicans who clashed with him. Notably, he endorsed Harriet Hageman’s successful push to unseat Wyoming’s former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, who served on a House congressional committee that investigated Trump supporters’ deadly US Capitol attack after he lost the 2020 presidential election.

Trump’s team also recently launched a group to unseat Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie, who opposed the US’s 22 June strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. Massie also formed an alliance with the California Democratic congressman Ro Khanna to introduce a war powers resolution meant to “prohibit involvement in Iran” as well as Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”.

Chris LaCivita, senior Trump political adviser, has confirmed that he and Tony Fabrizio, another Trump adviser, would run an anti-Massie super political action committee (PAC).

Trump’s criticism of Tillis came as the Senate voted 51-49 in favor of passing a motion to advance the budget bill. It must now clear a formal Senate vote and be returned to the lower House for approval – which Trump wants done before the July 4th holiday.

The legislation is a stuffed hamper of Republican priorities – making tax breaks from Trump’s first presidency permanent, no taxes on tips, cutbacks to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments, and a commitment for an additional $350bn in spending on national security.