Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) says in a new book that his decision to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in January 2025 is the "biggest regret of my career." In the text, titled "How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents," Tillis also wrote that he "should’ve stopped" Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from being confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The book, scheduled for release on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, provides a retrospective on Tillis’s final term in the Senate. The North Carolina Republican announced in June 2025 that he would not seek reelection, a decision he described as a "breaking point" following a public disagreement with President Donald Trump over a tax and spending bill. Tillis wrote that he reached this point after the president criticized him for opposing proposed cuts to Medicaid.
Regarding the Hegseth confirmation, Tillis reported that he weighed his decision late into the evening of January 24, 2025. While he said he could not corroborate allegations regarding Hegseth at the time, he now characterizes the vote as a mistake. Tillis provided the 50th vote for confirmation, allowing Vice President JD Vance to break a 50-50 tie in the Senate.
Tillis used the memoir to criticize several aspects of the administration’s policy, including immigration raids and tariffs. While he initially supported the war with Iran, he wrote that the conflict requires a coalition of nations to resolve and suggested that Secretary Hegseth should be removed. He also criticized other Cabinet members, including Tulsi Gabbard, Kristi Noem, and Howard Lutnick.
The scale of the impact is reflected in the departments involved: the Department of Defense manages a large budget, and the Department of Health and Human Services oversees Medicaid, which provides healthcare for over 80 million people. For households, the "havoc" Tillis attributes to Kennedy's tenure and the "disorder" he associates with immigration raids represent changes in how federal law and healthcare benefits are administered. Tillis’s regret underscores that these national leadership transitions were secured by the narrowest possible legal threshold.
What happens next: The book will be published on October 6, 2026. This release comes as Tillis prepares to leave office at the end of his term. He also predicted a "bloodbath" for the Republican party in the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections. The administration has not issued a formal response to the book's specific claims, though the president previously labeled Tillis a "QUITTER" following his decision to retire. No official dates for leadership changes at the targeted agencies have been announced.