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Thom Tillis and the Power of a Single Senator

As his Senate career winds down, can the North Carolina Republican throw a wrench in the chamber’s gears?
Senate Votes On Venezuela War Powers
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina talks to reporters as he walks through the basement of the U.S. Capitol on January 14, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Sen. Thom Tillis was getting impatient. Despite repeated requests, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had not yet appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on which Tillis sits, so he announced he would place holds on DHS nominees until she testified.

Tillis characterized his stance as a response to Noem giving the committee the cold shoulder.

Charles Hilu is a reporter for The Dispatch based in Washington, D.C. Before joining the company in 2024, he was the Collegiate Network Fellow at the Washington Free Beacon and interned at both National Review and the Washington Examiner. When he is not chasing down lawmakers on Capitol Hill, he is probably listening to show tunes or following the premier sports teams of the University of Michigan and city of Detroit.

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