Tillis on Confirming Hegseth: "I Made A Mistake, But Based On The Data I Had At The Time, I'd Do The Same Thing Again"
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/10/08/tillis_on_confirming_hegseth_i_made_a_mistake_but_based_on_the_data_i_had_at_the_time_id_do_the_same_thing_again.html

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) on his support for some of President Trump's cabinet nominees:

KASIE HUNT, CNN: You criticize the president's, a number of the president's cabinet members, you refer to them as maggots in your book. You've also called President Trump a very strong political athlete, can't argue with that, he's won two presidential elections, but you voted for a lot of these nominees and when you look back on the time you've been here in a Washington that has been dominated by President Trump, where and how do you think, if at all, you've enabled his worst instincts?

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Well, I do think that in the case of confirming Hegseth, I'm partly responsible for some of the challenges that we're having now with getting funding and succeeding in Iran because I think Hegseth has failed. But you know, I think it's funny, I've talked to some people, I said it was my biggest regret, they're gonna, well, we need to do a way back, way back sort of machine and you can reverse your decision. That's, that's in the past.

What I can say is I made a mistake, but based on the data I had at the time, I'd do the same thing again. Knowing what I know now, I would have never gotten him, but of course he wouldn't have gotten a unanimous vote out of the committee if we'd known he wasn't going to consult with Congress. He takes us for granted and he treats us more like a manufacturing line in his company than his board of directors, which is going to create some problems for him when he tries to get one and a half trillion dollars in defense spending because he simply hasn't, he needs to to get their support.