All posts tagged: Thom Tillis

Epstein victims blast Trump nominee Todd Blanche after meeting

Epstein victims blast Trump nominee Todd Blanche after meeting

Published by Sam Flores

Epstein survivors and family members stand behind former Attorney General John Ashcroft and Jeffrey Epstein survivor Dani Bensky as she speaks during the second day of acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be attorney general, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 16, 2026. Ken Cedeno | Afp | Getty Images Victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein blasted Todd Blanche after meeting with the acting attorney general at the Department of Justice, a sit-down Sen. Thom Tillis urged Blanche to have as he seeks Senate confirmation as the permanent U.S. attorney general. Those victims called Blanche condescending and evasive, saying he seemed motivated to talk to them face-to-face Thursday afternoon solely to get his nomination by President Donald Trump advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee. “After meeting with Todd Blanche, I feel even more confident in urging senators to vote against his confirmation as the United States’ Attorney General,” Annie Farmer, one of those victims, said in a statement Thursday night. “I found …

Trump DNI pick Pulte gets U.S. intelligence access

Trump DNI pick Pulte gets U.S. intelligence access

Published by Sam Flores

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, during a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Elizabeth Frantz | Bloomberg | Getty Images Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s controversial pick serve as acting director of National Intelligence, is poised to assume that role on Friday after Trump thwarted Senate Republicans’ efforts to fast-track confirming his nomination of Jay Clayton for that spot. Trump’s surprising move will give Pulte access to the most secret of U.S. intelligence data despite concerns he could use such information to target foes of the president. Trump on Wednesday effectively said he would keep Pulte serving as acting DNI, and prevented the Senate from hearing from Clayton that same day in his confirmation hearing until Congress jumped through several legislative hoops. Trump said he would not sign an extension of a crucial national security program, even if it is passed by Congress, unless it includes the passage of a controversial Voter ID and …

Roy Cooper North Carolina race could help decide control of the next Senate

Roy Cooper North Carolina race could help decide control of the next Senate

Published by Sam Flores

Roy Cooper, left, former governor of North Carolina and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for North Carolina, and Michael Whatley, former chair of the Republican National Committee and Republican U.S. Senate candidate for North Carolina. Al Drago | Shelby Tauber | Bloomberg | Getty Images Every few years, North Carolina offers Democrats the same bargain: spend here with election dollars, organize campaigns here and believe this time will be different. The state gives them reasons to hope. Growth is reshaping its suburbs. Urban centers like Raleigh, Charlotte and the Research Triangle are producing more Democratic votes. Statewide races remain close. Then, in the contests that decide power in Washington, North Carolina usually turns Democrats down. That contradiction is now central to the fight for Senate control in 2026 when every competitive seat could matter in deciding the next congressional majority. Democrats’ narrow path back to a majority runs through a handful of Republican-held seats, and few are more consequential than the one in the Tar Heel State. Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is facing Republican Michael …

Trump signals he could send details of Iran deal to Congress

Trump signals he could send details of Iran deal to Congress

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signaled that he’s open to sending details of the agreement with Iran to members of Congress, as lawmakers from both parties are raising questions, asking to see the accord and saying they should vote on any final deal. Arriving at a bilateral meeting in France with United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Trump said he wouldn’t mind sending the memorandum of understanding to Congress for review. He did not indicate when Congress might receive the details. The framework was announced and signed digitally on Sunday and could bring an end to the hostilities between the U.S. and Iran that began in February. “What I would like to do is send it to Congress and say ‘you shouldn’t approve it.’ And they will approve it,” Trump said, apparently joking. He is in Évian-les-Bains, France, for the 2026 G7 summit. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said at a press conference Tuesday he hadn’t been briefed on the agreement. “I certainly have not yet, although we are requesting that, and …

Pirro’s losses in Fed matter should stay on the books, judge rules

Pirro’s losses in Fed matter should stay on the books, judge rules

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announces charges in connection with an international car theft ring during a press conference at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 22, 2026. Nathan Howard | Reuters A federal judge in Washington on Thursday denied a prosecutor’s request to erase the record of the government’s legal losses during its attempt to investigate former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Chief Judge James Boasberg, in a scathing order in D.C. District Court, replete with media quotes and links to a YouTube clip, denied a motion by the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to vacate his earlier rulings that had gone against Pirro. The latest development caps a monthslong legal saga that saw Boasberg halt aspects of an investigation by Pirro into the Fed. Boasberg in March quashed a pair of subpoenas Pirro issued because, he ruled, Pirro’s effort was intended at least in part to “harass and pressure Powell” on behalf of the president, who wanted lower interest rates. Read more CNBC politics coverage Pirro …

U.S. Senate passes billion ICE funding, fails to ban Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

U.S. Senate passes $70 billion ICE funding, fails to ban Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

Published by Sam Flores

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) talks to reporters outside his office at the beginning of the legislative week at the U.S. Capitol on June 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images The U.S. Senate handed President Donald Trump a victory early Friday morning, passing a bill that would provide the Department of Homeland Security with an additional $70 billion for immigration enforcement and sending it to the House of Representatives for final consideration. The Senate voted 52-47 to approve the legislation, with no support from Democrats and no provision to ban a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that could compensate Trump’s political allies for allegations that the government mistreated them. One Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski, voted against the bill. Senate Republican Leader John Thune said the fund was a “settled issue,” citing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s congressional testimony this week that the Department of Justice would not move forward with it, though Democrats have said his word was insufficient. Trump subsequently said he intended to nominate Blanche to lead the Justice Department — …

‘Don’t think he has a prayer’

‘Don’t think he has a prayer’

Published by Sam Flores

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) questions Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent during a Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing in Washington, DC on February 5, 2026. Nathan Posner | Anadolu | Getty Images Republican Sen. Thom Tillis on Wednesday blasted President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. intelligence community as an “incendiary attack dog” who has no path to being confirmed by the Senate. The remarks on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” from the retiring North Carolina senator added to the growing backlash against Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, whom Trump appointed acting director of national intelligence on Tuesday on top of his housing role. “I don’t think he has a prayer” of making it through the Senate and becoming the permanent DNI, Tillis said of Pulte. “Whoever told the president to go ahead and commit to this publicly before vetting it should lose their jobs, because they should know that the math just works against Pulte being confirmed,” he said. But the senator also acknowledged that the Trump …

Republican lawmaker says Hegseth ‘makes Kristi Noem seem like a 5-star recruit’ in blistering takedown

Republican lawmaker says Hegseth ‘makes Kristi Noem seem like a 5-star recruit’ in blistering takedown

Published by Sam Flores

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s handling of the Iran war, saying that he makes “Kristi Noem seem like a 5-star recruit.” The North Carolina lawmaker, who is retiring at the end of his current term, spoke out Sunday against Hegseth’s handling of the ongoing war with Iran and the reported peace deal that the Trump administration claims is nearly reached. Tillis told CNN’s State of the Union that the deal comes after Hegseth claimed the U.S. “obliterated” Iran, noting that the secretary was “in a position to, pretty much, dictate terms.” “When you see these mistakes made by Hegseth…With all of these mistakes in total, it’s beginning to make Kristi Noem look like a five-star recruit,” Tillis said. Tillis, a frequent critic of Trump, suggested that the reported details of the agreement represent a shift in the administration’s stance on the war. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s handling of the war in Iran, and said his work makes Kristi Noem look good (AFP/Getty) “We were told about …

Trump finally gets his man at the Fed. Will Kevin Warsh disappoint him?

Trump finally gets his man at the Fed. Will Kevin Warsh disappoint him?

Published by Sam Flores

Kevin Warsh, nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve, is sworn in to his Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images It has taken eight and a half years, but on Wednesday President Donald Trump finally succeeded in reversing one of the few mistakes he has admitted to making as president. In November 2017, Trump chose Jerome Powell to chair the Federal Reserve, opting for someone he saw as malleable over a charismatic but youthful former Fed governor, Kevin Warsh. Trump has regretted it ever since. The question that has consumed the markets as the Senate moved toward Wednesday’s confirmation is whether Trump will come to regret this decision, too. Fed chairs “change once they get the job,” Trump said in January. If Warsh loses Trump’s backing, the new Fed chair may not have the bulwark of congressional support that helped Powell resist Trump.  Whether Warsh can succeed in the mission of “regime change” he has …

Major crypto bill set to get first vote on May 14 in Senate Banking

Major crypto bill set to get first vote on May 14 in Senate Banking

Published by Sam Flores

Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., listens to testimony by Kevin Warsh in Dirksen building on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images A major rules-of-the-road bill for the crypto industry is set to get an initial vote on May 14 in the Senate Banking Committee. The step to move the legislation forward is a loss for the banking industry. Banks have argued that the proposed legislative language limiting when stablecoins can earn interest is still too similar to yield-bearing products like a savings account, and could threaten traditional banks and their deposits. Historically, interest in the form of rewards has been a key incentive for users to hold stablecoins. Scott told Fox Business last week that he wanted to have “13 of 13 Republicans on board” — referring to all GOP members on the committee. It’s not clear if any Democrats will vote for the bill given yet-to-be-resolved differences, including over provisions that would limit how politicians can profit from digital assets. Several senators and industry experts have suggested the …