TCGF Leadership Series
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC)
A rare conversation with one of the few Republicans willing to defy Trump — and pay the price.
On Zoom, Monday April 13th from 4:20PM - 5:00PM.
Senator Thom Tillis is leaving office after becoming one of the few Republicans in Washington willing to confront Trump directly on major policy and institutional fights. He broke with the president on tariffs by backing congressional oversight of Trump’s trade powers, opposed the administration’s signature tax-and-spending package, and more recently pushed back against political pressure on the Federal Reserve — stands that put him at odds with his own party’s center of gravity and, ultimately, with Trump himself.
His departure only sharpens the moment. Tillis announced he would not seek reelection just after Trump publicly threatened to support a primary challenger over Tillis’s vote against advancing the White House’s marquee domestic bill, making his exit part of the larger story of what dissent inside today’s GOP can cost. At a time when so few Republicans are willing to break publicly with Trump, this event offers a rare chance to hear from a senator who did — and who can speak candidly about the economic, political, and institutional battles defining this era in Washington.
About our Speaker
Senator Thom Tillis has built a career defined by upward mobility, executive discipline, and a willingness to take on difficult fights. Raised in a working-class family, he began as a warehouse clerk, earned his college degree while working, and rose through a nearly three-decade career in technology and consulting before entering public service. That combination of lived experience and business leadership has long shaped his approach to governing.
After serving in local office, Tillis was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2006 and became Speaker in 2011, helping lead major tax and regulatory changes in the state. Since arriving in the U.S. Senate in 2015, he has become a consequential voice on economic, judicial, financial, and veterans’ issues through his service on some of the chamber’s most important committees.