GOP Senator Says White House Must ‘Get Over’ Trump Loyalty Test - Newsweek

Senator Thom Tillis said Republicans should not be considered disloyal for disagreeing with President Donald Trump, arguing that some White House officials place too much emphasis on loyalty to Trump and should accept policy differences within the party.

The North Carolina Republican made the remarks to reporters on Thursday, adding another chapter to a year-long pattern of public breaks with the Trump administration over the Iran war, Cabinet officials, Justice Department matters and other issues.

Newsweek reached out to the White House and Tillis' office for comment.

"I have said that we have got to get away from this one disagreement with the president makes you disloyal," Tillis said. "I've supported the president more than 90 percent of the time on votes that matter.

"And other members will have disagreements. And when they do, they should express them."

He then directly criticized what he sees as a culture of ideological conformity around Trump.

"People in the White House need to get over a loyalty test or a perfect test," Tillis said. "I'm not here to please the president, I'm here to please the people that voted for me in North Carolina."

Tillis argued that Republicans in some states may need to put distance between themselves and the White House if they genuinely disagree with administration policies.

"And if they want to get elected in some states, they probably do need separation, if it's genuine," he said. "If they really believe it, then go out and double down on it."

The senator specifically mentioned the war with Iran as an example of an issue in which Republicans may have sincere disagreements with the administration.

"But if they believe maybe, maybe we need to look a little bit differently in the Iran war—or pick a subject—that's not being disloyal," Tillis said.

The remarks come after months of increasingly public clashes between Tillis and the Trump administration.

In July, Tillis delivered one of the sharpest Republican rebukes of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, telling The Hill that the Pentagon chief had "lost my confidence" amid growing concerns about the handling of the Iran war.

"I don't have any confidence in him anymore," Tillis said at the time. "He's all over the place."

He accused Hegseth of micromanaging the Pentagon, pushing out respected military leaders and failing to effectively manage a large organization. Trump quickly defended his defense secretary.

"No. I think he's done a great job. We've pretty much destroyed their military," Trump told reporters when asked about Hegseth.

The dispute did not emerge in isolation. Months earlier, Tillis warned that Hegseth was making "impulsive decisions not grounded in reality or good judgment" and cautioned against surrounding himself with "yes-men" rather than experienced military advisers.

In May, Trump attacked Tillis as a "RINO (Republican in Name Only)" and a "nitpicker" after the senator opposed a controversial anti-weaponization fund tied to a legal settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service.

"If opposing these things makes me a RINO, then I gladly accept that nickname," he wrote on X. "We need Republicans to do well in November, but the stupid stuff is killing our chances!"

Tillis has also repeatedly questioned the administration's handling of the war with Iran. On Thursday he joined Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky in backing a Democratic-led Senate resolution aimed at ending the war or requiring congressional authorization.

"We're reaching a point to where we just need answers," Tillis said this week. "We got to know what success looks like."

The White House has vigorously defended its approach. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly previously told Newsweek that senior officials have provided dozens of bipartisan briefings to Congress and said Trump acted because "the Iranian regime...can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon."

Tillis' latest criticism also follows other high-profile disputes with Trump and his advisers.

The senator escalated criticism of Trump's inner circle during a standoff over Todd Blanche's nomination as U.S. attorney general, saying the president was receiving poor counsel.

"The president's getting bad advice," Tillis told reporters, while separately blaming an "incompetent personal adviser to the president" for prolonging the dispute.

Tillis has also broken with the administration over the Department of Justice's investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, criticized Homeland Security leadership, condemned proposals involving Greenland and repeatedly objected to pardons or benefits connected to January 6 Capitol riot defendants.

Those conflicts have made him one of the most independent Republican voices in the Senate.

Tillis announced previously that he would not seek reelection in 2026, a decision that has freed him from some of the political pressures facing Republicans running in competitive races. Since then, he has increasingly challenged administration policies and personnel decisions that he believes are politically damaging or substantively flawed.

His latest remarks suggest he believes more Republicans should be willing to do the same.

"In fact, I think it's the ultimate act of loyalty to be truthful to the president and the administration," Tillis said.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Steve Mollman and Dave Siminoff.