[Report by Oanzhe Net, Zhang Jingjian] According to Reuters, on July 1st local time, President Donald Trump told Air Force One that his daughter-in-law, Laura Trump, might replace Thom Tillis, a Republican federal senator from North Carolina. Previously, Tillis had announced he would not seek reelection after clashing with Trump over the “Bigger, Better, Faster” tax and spending bill.
Trump stated, “Laura would be a great choice. She grew up there, but now she lives in Florida.”
He continued to praise Laura Trump as an excellent person, “I mean, she’s always been my top choice. Although she’s not living there now, she has always been there.”
It is worth noting that Trump won this key swing state of North Carolina by three points in the 2024 presidential election, adding an advantage to the Republican Party’s political strategy in the state.
The report mentioned that the seat in North Carolina is one of the few competitive Senate seats in the midterm elections of 2026, posing a threat to the control of both houses of Congress.
On the morning of July 1st, the US Senate narrowly passed the “Bigger, Better, Faster” bill (51 votes for, 50 against). The bill will now return to the House of Representatives, where Speaker of the House Mike Johnson will strive to pass it before Trump’s set deadline of July 4th.
Tillis, R-Kentucky, Senator Landrieu Paul of Maine, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine are the three Republicans who voted against the final bill. Tillis had warned that the proposed legislation’s Medicaid cuts would leave hundreds of thousands of North Carolina voters without health insurance.
This Republican lawmaker’s opposition to the bill infuriated Trump, who on February 28th posted a furious message on his own social media platform “Truth Social” accusing Tilis of being a complainer who only talks but doesn’t do anything. He stated that “many people” are willing to challenge Tilis in the primary elections and mentioned he would meet them in the coming weeks.
Just over 24 hours after Trump threatened to support others in the primary election to challenge Tilis, Tilis publicly announced her decision not to seek re-election. Upon hearing this news, Trump immediately posted a triumphant “good news”.
Laura Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, the second son of Donald Trump, was a Federal Senator from North Carolina before the 2024 elections. She served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) prior to Florida Senator Rubio being nominated for Secretary of State. However, after careful consideration, she ultimately decided not to consider taking up the position of Rustio.
In February this year, Fox News announced that Laura Trump would host a new weekend show titled “Talking with Laura Trump” on the channel. The program will air at 9 PM every Saturday, lasting one hour. Laura Trump had previously written for Fox News and appeared on the channel in 2021 and 2022.
Susanna Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, once stated in a declaration that Laura Trump is “a genius communicator and successful entrepreneur who knows how to connect with audiences.”