Republican Sen. Tillis calls his vote for Hegseth the ‘biggest regret of my career’ in a new book

WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican Sen. Thom Tillis notes in a new book that his deciding vote to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in January 2025 is the "biggest regret of my career" and that he additionally "should've stopped" Robert F.

What happened

In "How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents, " to be published Tuesday, the North Carolina senator defends his decision at the time to not be "the lone voice in the wilderness" preventing Trump's nominees from confirmation. But Tillis makes clear he was always skeptical of allegations regarding Hegseth's turbulent management style, treatment of women and excessive drinking. Hegseth denied all the allegations.

"I know for a fact that there are others like me, " Tillis writes, "Republicans who agreed to go along with the early demands of the Trump team no matter how ridiculous they were, believing that failing to do so would mean the end of their political career, and who now see that things have gone way too far."

The bottom line

In short, republican Sen. Tillis calls his vote for Hegseth the biggest regret of is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.