[Report by Ouanzhe 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 his resignation after clashing with Trump over the “Bigger, Better, Faster” tax and spending bill.
Trump stated, “Laura would be an excellent choice. She grew up there, but now she lives in Florida.”
He continued to praise Laura Trump as an outstanding individual, “I mean, she’s always been my first 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 U.S. presidential election, adding an advantage to the Republican Party’s political strategy in the state.
The report mentioned that the seat in North Carolina was considered 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 U.S. 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, Kentucky Republican Senator Landrieu Paul, and Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins were the three Republicans who voted against the final bill. Tillis had warned that the proposed legislation’s Medicaid cuts could leave hundreds of thousands of North Carolina voters without health insurance.
The opposition to the bill by this Republican lawmaker infuriated Trump, who on February 28th, expressed his anger on his own social media platform “Truth Social” by calling Tilis a “talker without action,” and stated that “many people” are willing to challenge him in the primary elections, “I will meet with 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 his decision not to seek re-election. Upon hearing this news, Trump immediately posted a message of joy, “Good news.”
Laura Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, Jr., is a Republican federal senator from North Carolina. Prior to the 2024 elections, she served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
Before Florida Senator Rubio was nominated as Secretary of State, Laura was once considered a frontrunner for the position. However, after careful consideration, she ultimately decided not to consider taking up the role of Secretary of State.
In February of this year, Fox News announced that Laura Trump would host a new weekend program titled “Talking with Laura Trump” on the channel. The program airs every Saturday at 9 PM, lasting one hour. Laura Trump has written for Fox News and appeared on the channel in 2021 and 2022.
Susanna Scott, CEO of Fox News Media, stated in a declaration that Laura Trump is “a genius communicator and successful entrepreneur who knows how to connect with audiences.”