There’s little to be gained today in American politics when standing up for the government establishment. Attention and applause tend to flow toward those who attack basic institutions.
Yet US Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina used a national media platform recently to make his “institutionalist” case for Congress.
Tillis surprised political observers throughout the country on June 29. He announced that he would not seek another term on Capitol Hill. That decision followed an open spat with President Donald Trump over the final version of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. Trump had used his high-profile social media platform to promise support for a Republican primary opponent against Tillis.
“In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” Tillis wrote.
He lamented the “greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics.” “When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer,” Tillis wrote. “But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure them.”
Ten days after Tillis’ announcement shook the political world, CNN interviewed him.
“A columnist in the Carolina Journal wrote about you, ‘Tillis has been one of the few elected officials on Capitol Hill in recent years who has demonstrated a willingness to stand up for the legislative branch,’” anchor Jake Tapper said 10 minutes into the half-hour conversation. “’The story surrounding his departure from Congress is unlikely to encourage others to step into that role.’ Do you agree with that?”
“Yeah, I agree,” Tillis responded.
The story is not limited to Republicans demanding support for Trump’s policies, he warned. “Democrats have a far worse rap sheet than Republicans when it comes to defending this institution. I only have to point to nuking the filibuster. Thank God we had Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema there to save the chamber.”
Manchin and Sinema, Democratic senators from West Virginia and Arizona, refused to support a vote to end Senate filibuster rules to give their party a temporary advantage. The filibuster limits the majority party’s ability to act without bipartisan cooperation.
Manchin and Sinema both left the Senate in 2024. “These folks now are using as a litmus test for primaries: Would you nuke the filibuster?” Tillis said of today’s most strident Democrats.
“But now Republicans are starting to take that bait,” Tillis told Tapper.
“I am here to defend the Article I branch,” he said, referring to the Constitution. Article I sets out duties and responsibilities of Congress. Article II describes the executive branch. Article III dictates duties for the judiciary.
Tillis is willing “to collaborate with the Article II branch, moreso when there’s a Republican in there, maybe a little less so when there’s a Democrat,” he added. “But still I managed to do bipartisan work when [Joe] Biden was in office.”
“At the end of the day, I’m an institutionalist,” Tillis proclaimed. “It’s remarkable to me how I hear all these self-avowed institutionalists rationalize why they wouldn’t vote for the amendment last week for [Louisiana Sen.] John Kennedy to simply say if we’re going to give the president $1 billion a year to spend on defense production, shouldn’t there actually be a consultation with Congress before it’s spent?”
“We had dozens of our members vote against it because the president — rightfully — wanted it,” Tillis continued.
“I don’t mind the tug and pull,” he told Tapper. “I think the president would be wrong if he wasn’t trying to make his branch as powerful as possible. By the same token, it’s our job to maintain the historic intent of the Article I branch.”
“I’m willing to be dogmatic about that because I really believe that it is what has made this country so special,” Tillis concluded.
Tillis will join Manchin and Sinema soon among the ranks of former US senators. It’s uncertain whether his defense of congressional power will have any impact on Capitol Hill.
It’s even less clear whether Tillis’ words will influence voters choosing his successor. Many Republicans will seek a senator who pledges to fall in line with Trump’s demands. Many Democrats will expect a senator to oppose every proposal emerging from Trump’s White House.
For North Carolinians whose votes are up for grabs from one election to the next, the critical role of the “Article I branch” might not be a driving factor. That’s a negative sign for a government that depends in the long term on its institutional strength.
Mitch Kokai is senior political analyst for the John Locke Foundation.
