Donald Trump Leaves Everyone Scratching Their Heads After Declaring a Sitting Senator Is “No Longer” in Office

President Donald Trump caused confusion over the weekend after he spoke as if a sitting U.S. senator was no longer in office, even though that senator is still actively serving and has real power to block Trump’s plans.

While speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Saturday morning, Trump was asked about the delay in confirming his nominee for chair of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh. During his response, Trump referred to Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina as if he were already gone from the Senate. Trump suggested that Tillis was “no longer a senator” and blamed him for holding up the nomination, even saying that Tillis would soon be “out of office.”

That statement was simply not true. Thom Tillis is still very much a U.S. senator, and his term does not end until January 2027. He currently sits on the powerful Senate Banking Committee, which plays a key role in deciding whether Federal Reserve nominees move forward. Because the committee is so closely divided, Tillis alone has the ability to block Warsh’s nomination, which is exactly what he has been doing.

Trump later seemed to realize his mistake and hinted that his team might just have to wait until a different senator comes along. Still, the slip showed how frustrated he is with Tillis, who was once a reliable Republican vote but has now become a major obstacle for the administration.

The tension goes beyond a single nomination. Tillis has refused to move Warsh’s confirmation forward because of concerns about political pressure being placed on the Federal Reserve. Earlier this month, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell over issues related to renovations at the Fed’s headquarters. Powell’s supporters argue that the investigation is politically motivated and meant to push him out of his job, especially since Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell for not cutting interest rates.

Tillis has made it clear that he will not support a new Fed chair nominee while that investigation is hanging over the institution. In a public statement, he said that while Kevin Warsh is qualified, protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve is more important. He argued that the investigation into Powell is based on testimony that does not reasonably suggest criminal behavior and warned against using legal threats to interfere with monetary policy.

The relationship between Trump and Tillis began to fall apart last summer. In June 2025, Tillis voted against one of Trump’s signature bills, saying it would hurt Medicaid coverage in North Carolina. That vote effectively ended his standing with Trump and much of the Republican base. Shortly afterward, Tillis announced he would not seek reelection in 2026, freeing him from political pressure and allowing him to act more independently.

Since then, Tillis has openly criticized the administration and clashed with top officials, including cabinet members and senior White House aides. With no reelection campaign to worry about, he has been willing to challenge Trump in ways few Republicans still do.

Right now, his biggest point of leverage is the Banking Committee. Without Tillis’s support, Republicans do not have enough votes to send Warsh’s nomination to the full Senate. That means Trump’s plan for reshaping the Federal Reserve is effectively stuck.

As Trump went on with his day and signed an unrelated executive order, the reality did not change. Thom Tillis is still a senator, still on the committee, and still blocking the nomination. Unless something shifts, he will remain in that position until early 2027, quietly but firmly standing in the way of the president’s goals.