Trump may look to his daughter-in-law to defend Senate seat in key battleground

President Donald Trump calls Sen. Thom Tillis' announcement that the two-term Republican senator won't see re-election next year in battleground North Carolina "Great News."

And with Tillis — who Trump torched this past weekend for not supporting his so-called "big, beautiful" spending and tax cut bill in a key test vote — now out of the picture in the midterms, it's likely the president and his political team will be the kingmakers in the selection of the 2026 GOP nominee in North Carolina.