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thom tillis
Backlash Builds Against Trump DOJ's 'Unprecedented' Investigation of US Federal Reserve Chairman
"If the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer."
Jan 12, 2026
The US Department of Justice's decision to open a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has ignited a major backlash that even has some Republican senators drawing a line in the sand.
Shortly after Powell released a video on Sunday accusing the Department of Justice (DOJ) of waging an "intimidation" campaign against him on behalf of President Donald Trump, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) blasted the administration, accusing them of trying to compromise the independence of America's central bank.
“If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none,” said Tillis, who further vowed to "oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed chair vacancy—until this legal matter is fully resolved."
On Monday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) backed up Tillis' pledge to oppose any nominees for the Federal Reserve until the criminal probe of Powell, whose term as Fed chair is due to end in May, has been resolved.
Murkowski also revealed that she spoke with Powell and determined that "it’s clear the administration’s investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion" aimed at affecting his decisions on US monetary policy.
"The stakes are too high to look the other way," Murkowski emphasized. "If the Federal Reserve loses its independence, the stability of our markets and the broader economy will suffer."
Trump can only afford to lose the support of four Republican senators in a vote for a new Fed chair, which means Tillis and Murkowski's vows not to support any nominee until the case against Powell is resolved carry significant weight.
A bipartisan group of economists who have served under US presidents dating back to Ronald Reagan—including former Federal Reserve Chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellin—released a joint statement on Monday denouncing what they described as an effort to strong-arm the Federal Reserve into doing the president's bidding.
"The reported criminal inquiry into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell is an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine... independence," they wrote. "This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and the functioning of their economies more broadly. It has no place in the United States, whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success."
Trump, who nominated Powell to be Federal Reserve chairman in 2017, has been openly pressuring Powell for months to more aggressively cut interest rates in the face of a faltering jobs market.
Powell, however, has continued to take a more cautious approach, and has cited the price instability caused by Trump's tariffs as a reason to hold off on more aggressive rate cuts.
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'RIP to Free and Fair Elections,' Say North Carolina Dems After GOP Approves New Voting Map
"They know they can't win fair and square, so they rig the maps," said the North Carolina Democratic Party. "This fight isn’t over."
Oct 22, 2025
Republicans in North Carolina have passed a new congressional map that eliminates the one genuinely competitive district in the state and makes it likely the GOP will gain an extra seat in next year's midterm elections.
As reported by local news station WRAL, the new map passed on a party-line vote in the North Carolina House of Representatives on Wednesday, and will now become law, as Democratic North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is not allowed under state law to veto redistricting legislation.
The law's passage came even as protesters flooded the House gallery ahead of the vote and chanted, "Don’t rig the maps!" and "We need healthcare, not racist maps!"
📍Raleigh, NC
Protesters escorted out of the N.C. State House gallery chanting “we need healthcare, not racist maps”
The State House is slated for to pass a new gerrymandered congressional map as soon as this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/gx8AM5KAzi
— Alex Tabet (@AlexanderTabet) October 22, 2025
The North Carolina Democratic Party lashed out at state Republicans for ramming through the new map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
"RIP to free and fair elections in North Carolina," the party said in a social media post. "Republicans just passed rigged maps to keep power—turning our 50/50 state into an 11-3 Republican advantage at [President Donald] Trump's request. They know they can't win fair and square, so they rig the maps. This fight isn’t over. We’ll organize, we’ll mobilize, and we’ll take it back at the ballot box."
US Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), whose seat is being targeted by the GOP redistricting plan, noted in a statement that voters in his district last year voted for both him and Trump, and he argued that "not a single" one of them had ever demanded "a new congressional map redrawing eastern North Carolina."
Republicans in the Tar Heel State redrew their congressional map as part of an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting campaign being pushed by Trump to help Republicans maintain their razor-thin majority in the US House of Representatives next year. In addition to North Carolina, both Texas and Missouri have also heeded Trump's call to redraw their maps to boost their party's chances.
However, not every North Carolina Republican is on board with the scheme, as US Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) on Wednesday told Spectrum News' Reuben Jones that he supported having independent redistricting panels, and warned his party that their scheme could have unintended consequences.
"You need to be careful," said Tillis, who is not seeking reelection. "North Carolina is a purple state... if you go a little bit further, you could get surprised in an election cycle, and [it will] not go your way. So just be careful what you wish for!"
As things stand now, Republicans currently have 10 of North Carolina's 14 congressional seats, and under the new map, that is projected to increase to 11 seats.
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The Tragedy of Thom Tillis
Tillis squandered a unique opportunity to protect the nation from Pete Hegseth. The country is now paying the price for his cowardice.
Jul 15, 2025
The incompetence of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense is painfully obvious. Former Fox & Friends weekend host Pete Hegseth was never qualified for the job.
Belatedly, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)—who became the key vote to confirm the nominee—now admits it.
Tillis squandered a unique opportunity to protect the nation from Hegseth. The country is now paying the price for his cowardice.
Tillis’ Reversal
In a phone call with Trump just before Christmas, Tillis promised to support all of Trump’s cabinet picks. But he developed strong reservations about Pete Hegseth—strong enough to participate in a secret effort to kill the nomination. Serious issues about character, statements about barring women in combat, and allegations of sexual misconduct dogged Hegseth. He had none of the qualifications necessary to run the defense department of more than 2 million military and civilian personnel.
Other Republicans—including Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)—had similar concerns. And to confirm Hegseth, Trump could afford to lose only three Republican senators. Ernst, a former combat veteran who had survived a sexual assault, capitulated to pressure from Trump’s supporters who threatened a primary challenge in her upcoming reelection. The other three—Murkowski, Collins, and McConnell—held firm.
That left Tillis. After weeks of coordinating with fellow senators to oppose the nomination, he caved. As with Ernst, the threat of a Trump-endorsed primary challenger lurked. But Tillis attributed his earlier resistance to “vetting” and said that he decided to support Hegseth after conducting “due diligence.”
Even so, his abrupt, 11th-hour reversal from “no” to “yes” surprised Murkowski and Collins. And it positioned Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote that put Hegseth in charge at the Pentagon by one of the narrowest margins of any defense secretary in modern history: 51 to 50.
Hegseth’s Scandals
Before long, Hegseth’s incompetence revealed itself.
In his first major overseas appearance on February 12, he “made a rookie mistake,” according to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Hegseth told NATO and Ukrainian ministers that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was “an unrealistic objective” and ruled out NATO membership for Kyiv. Hegseth’s comments gave away Ukraine’s negotiating leverage before cease-fire negotiations with Russia had even begun.
“I don’t know who wrote the speech,” Wicker continued. “[I]t is the kind of thing Tucker Carlson could have written, and Carlson is a fool.”
Then came the “Signalgate” scandal. Hegseth was on a group chat from March 13-15 that inadvertently included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. The chat detailed sensitive information describing the United States’ imminent attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Shortly after that scandal became public came Signalgate II. The New York Times reported that Hegseth himself had shared detailed information about the forthcoming strikes in Yemen on March 15 in a private Signal group chat that included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer.
According to the Times, “Mr. Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, is not a Defense Department employee, but she has traveled with him overseas and drawn criticism for accompanying her husband to sensitive meetings with foreign leaders.”
“Mr. Hegseth’s brother Phil and Tim Parlatore, who continues to serve as his personal lawyer, both have jobs in the Pentagon, but it is not clear why either would need to know about upcoming military strikes aimed at the Houthis in Yemen.”
There’s more. Recently, the public learned that Hegseth paused U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine without informing Trump. A week later, Trump resumed the shipments.
Tillis’s Lamentations
At long last, Tillis finally found his spine—but only after announcing that he would not seek reelection in 2026. In a July 9 interview on CNN, he admitted the truth about Hegseth: “With the passing of time, I think it’s clear he’s out of his depth as a manager of a large, complex organization.”
As for Hegseth’s unilateral pause on weapons to Ukraine without informing Trump, Tillis said, “That’s just amateurish. That’s from somebody who doesn’t understand large organization dynamics.”
Would Tillis vote to confirm Hegseth today? “Now, I have the information of him being a manager, and I don’t think his probationary period has been very positive.”
In the same interview, Tillis also commented on his affirmative vote for another Trump cabinet member whose incompetence is likewise becoming clear and deadly: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Quite honestly, the main reason I supported Kennedy was because [Sen.] Bill Cassidy [R-La.] thought that we should see how it plays out,” Tillis said.
That cabinet pick is not playing out very well either. Just ask Sen. Cassidy.
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