A top Senate Republican lashed out at a conservative political consultant with close ties to President Donald Trump who said the GOP needs to dump him and find a new candidate — or else "hand the gavel" back to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Arthur Schwartz took to X on Thursday morning to urge Republicans to dump Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), citing polling showing former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper leading Tillis in the 2026 race for Senate.
Schwartz sounded the alarm on the poll, as Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris with about 51% of the vote in North Carolina.
"Thom Tillis is running 20 points behind DJT in North Carolina. We’re going to need a new senate candidate in NC unless we want to hand the gavel back to Schumer," he wrote on X.
Tillis fired back at Schwartz in an interview with NBC News.
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"The president needs a majority to continue his agenda,” Tillis told the outlet. “Behavior by people like this guy, it’s the thing that’s the single greatest threat to us to deliver the majority next year.”
But Tillis didn't stop there, and said Schwartz “doesn’t have the temperament to be anywhere around the political circles that guarantee that we come back into a majority next year.”
He concluded with a dig at Schwartz.
“Arthur Schwartz is a political hack that should probably just keep on being a smart guy and a billionaire, because he’s a s----- political consultant,” Tillis said.
Tillis' fiery response didn't go unnoticed, and Schwartz doubled down on his post.
"Every Republican senator I know wants Tillis to drop out so we can run a serious candidate who will beat away misfits like Mark Robinson that will get crushed in a general. Maybe Thom should be planning his post senate future instead of reading his mentions on X," retorted Schwartz.
Tillis has clashed with MAGA Republicans in the past, including Trump, despite generally supporting the president's agenda. In 2018, Tillis sponsored legislation to protect then-special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which Trump vehemently opposed.
Tillis also initially opposed Trump's national emergency declaration to build a border wall — later reversing his position — and voted to certify the 2020 election results, breaking with Trump's stance.
This year, Tillis initially planned to oppose Pete Hegseth's nomination for Pentagon chief, before ultimately voting to confirm him amid pressure from Trump and the President's allies.
