President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the James S. Brady Briefing Room at the White House, on June 27, 2025, in Washington. (MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Tillis, who is up for reelection in 2026, said after exiting the Senate GOP’s closed-door lunch that he has a "great relationship" with his colleagues, but that he couldn’t support the colossal bill.
"We just have a disagreement," he said. "And, you know, my colleagues have done the analysis, and they're comfortable with the impact on their states. I respect their choice. It's not a good impact in my state, so I'm not going to vote on the motion to proceed."
ANXIOUS REPUBLICANS TURN TO TRUMP AMID DIVISIONS OVER 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., in Hart Building on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The latest version of the bill, which dropped near the stroke of midnight, included tweaks to the Senate’s offering that would push back the provider rate crackdown by one year, and also added another $25 billion for a rural hospital stabilization fund.
While others in the group, like Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., are on board to at least see the legislation move through the first key procedural hurdle, Tillis has argued that his state would be harshly affected by the crackdown.
Indeed, during a closed-door lunch earlier this week, the lawmaker reportedly warned that North Carolina could lose as much as $40 billion in Medicaid funding if the changes were codified.
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For now, Tillis is unlikely to budge, even after conversations with Trump. He is also planning to unveil further analysis on the impact of Medicaid cuts on his state that he said no one in the "administration or in this building" has been able to refute.
"The president I have talked, and I just told him that, ‘Look, if this works for the country, that's great. And if my other colleagues have done extensive research and concluded it's different in their states, I respect that,’" he said. "We just have a disagreement based on the implementation in our respective states."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/key-gop-senator-defects-crucial-vote-imperiling-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-narrow-majority