The looming departures of North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon represent the latest retreat by members of the Republican mainstream and another sign of President Donald Trump’s firm grip on his party.
Tillis, especially, surprised political observers over the weekend when he announced his retirement after getting slammed by Trump over his opposition to the president’s signature domestic policy legislation.
“Trump is growing more confident in his leadership of the Republican Party,’’ GOP strategist Alex Conant said. “You can’t just get on his good side with some nice tweets. You have to vote for his agenda. … Clearly, he’s learned a lot about politics over the last 10 years, and one of the things he’s learned is that political power is useless if you don’t use it to advance your goals.”
