Pushback of the Week, February 15, 2026

Senator Thom Tillis on Political “Amateurs” and Republican Failures

It is always refreshing—though unfortunately all too rare—to hear someone in the corridors of power speak frankly.

When North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis announced last June that he would not be seeking re-election in 2026, he commented on the fact that American politics does not tolerate “independent thinking.” Apparently, now that he is retiring from the Senate, Tillis feels freer to speak his mind.

Recently, in repeated and forthright remarks, Tillis has expressed his disdain for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller (White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security advisor) :

• About Secretary Noem: Tillis suggests that her actions, especially on immigration, reflect “amateurish, assistant manager sort of thought processes.” He stated, “If I were in her position, I can’t think of any point of pride over the last year…. She has taken this administration into the ground on an issue that we should own. We should own the issue of border security and immigration, but they have destroyed that for Republicans.”
• About Miller: Stating that Miller “focuses too much on his Duke education,” Tillis told the press, “Stephen Miller never fails to live up to my expectations of incompetence.” Tillis also suggested that Miller should go back to third grade to understand why his call to federalize elections in 15 states is ridiculous, and why his statements about Greenland are “stupid.”

In retaliation for Tillis’s outspokenness, the president has now branded Sen. Tillis with one of his favorite insults. When reporters asked Tillis how he feels about the president calling him a “loser,” he answered,

“I am thrilled about that. That makes me qualified to be Homeland Security Secretary and senior advisor to the president.”

As Tillis follows in the path of other independent-minded senators who have departed after trying (and failing) “to mak[e] the Senate more of a functional and productive legislative body,” it sounds like it is the public that will be losing out.