Sen. Thom Tillis warns: Without checks on power, "we will have a sort of dictator king"

Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina is leaving the Senate, and he has a lot to say on his way out. In a new book called "How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents," Tillis warns that the United States is in danger of losing its system of checks and balances. He says that without pushback from Congress, the president could gain too much power. "We will have a sort of dictator king if we're not careful," Tillis said.

Tillis, who is 66 years old, served in the Senate during the presidencies of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump — both of Trump's terms. He says he has watched every recent president try to grab more power through executive orders, which are rules a president can make without a vote in Congress. Tillis believes this is a dangerous habit no matter which party is in charge. "We always make the mistake when our guy's in office of conveying power to the White House," he said, warning it almost always comes back to cause problems.

Checks and balances is the idea that the three branches of government — Congress, the president, and the courts — share power and keep each other from getting too strong. Tillis says this system has worked for about 250 years, but he fears people take it for granted. He worries that Americans do not realize how fast things could go wrong. "I think because we've been such a successful democracy for so long, it's hard for the American people to understand how quickly we can lose it all," he said.

Tillis was first elected to the Senate in 2014. He describes himself as a traditional conservative who supports gun rights, limited government, and careful spending. He says those values have not changed, even as the Republican Party has shifted under President Trump's leadership. He believes his record of actually passing legislation sets him apart from others who only talk about conservative ideas.

The final break between Tillis and the White House came in June 2025. Tillis announced he would vote against President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" because he felt it would take health care away from low-income people in North Carolina who depend on Medicaid. Trump responded by calling Tillis "a talker and complainer, not a doer" and threatened to support a primary challenger to run against him. Rather than fight for his seat, Tillis decided to retire from the Senate.

Tillis has also been very critical of some of Trump's cabinet members — the officials the president picks to run important parts of the government. He says his biggest regret from the start of Trump's second term is voting to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He believes Hegseth ignored good military advice after the United States struck Iran. Tillis also criticized Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and White House official Stephen Miller.

Earlier, Tillis harshly criticized Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a Senate hearing, calling out how she handled the deaths of two people in Minneapolis. His remarks went viral online. Two days after his public criticism, President Trump fired Noem. Tillis said both Noem and Hegseth "are probably the poster children for men and women who should never have the authority they've been granted."

On the topic of January 6, 2021 — the day a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol — Tillis called what happened "despicable." However, he chose not to vote to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial. He said the process felt rushed and political. "Cheapening the impeachment process to prevent somebody from running in the future, I just don't buy it," he said.

Looking ahead to the midterm elections, Tillis predicts Republicans will suffer what he calls an "electoral bloodbath." He says voters are worried about the cost of everyday things like food and housing. He also says at least 30 Republican senators privately have doubts about Trump's actions, but are too afraid to say so in public. They fear that if they speak out, Trump will try to defeat them in the next election. "You're up for reelection? He'll target you in a primary," Tillis said. He believes that if more senators had spoken up earlier, the party would be in a better position today.