The North Carolina senator provided pivotal 50th “yes” vote to confirm Hegseth as defense secretary.

Two of the most vulnerable Republican senators ahead of the 2026 midterms voiced pushback to President Donald Trump 's sweeping pardons of January 6 defendants on Tuesday. Trump issued pardons for those convicted of crimes during the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol building as one of his first actions in office on Monday.

Social media critics raked Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) over the coals after he, along with Vice President J.D. Vance, proved to be the deciding votes to confirm former Fox News weekend co-host Pete Hegseth to serve as President Donald Trump's secretary of Defense.

The Wall Street Journal reported on January 27 (the story is protected by a pay wall — click here to read a Vanity Fair summary) that North Carolina’s senior senator Thom Tillis set a new standard for disingenuous flipflops last week with his vote to confirm Trump nominee Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.

Pete Hegseth’s confirmation vote from the Senate on Friday night, in a tie broken by Vice President J.D. Vance, was helped by a North Carolina Republican senator and a one-on-one meeting between the two.

Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Tuesday it was a ... followed by several television crews. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told a CNN reporter Tuesday that she would be disappointed if Trump pardoned ...

Thom Tillis cast the deciding vote Friday night ... and potentially move three votes" — his and those of Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the Journal said, citing ...

Thom Tillis ... his vote, Tillis said he spoke to Hegseth for nearly two hours and found him “very, very gracious.” That explanation didn’t appear to fly with Collins or Murkowski, who ...

The US Senate on Friday approved Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary by a razor-thin margin, in which, Vice President JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Analysis: Democrats grandstanded, but it might be the questioning of two Republican hawks that sinks Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence, Eric Garcia reports

Lawmakers are set to grill Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel, three of Trump’s most controversial Cabinet nominees.

At the White House, President Donald Trump said he was surprised that two senators have publicly said they'll vote against his nominee to lead the Defense Department.