Tillis Warns Republicans on Corruption Perception, Questions DOJ Moves and Musk's Role in Ukraine Defense

Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is retiring, urged his party on Sunday to be more candid about where it has strayed into ethical gray areas. Speaking on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Tillis responded to CBS polling showing that 83% of voters see corruption as a concern in deciding their vote, with more of them viewing it as a Republican problem.

As an example, Tillis pointed to an oligarch who paid tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the wedding of the president's son. The senator said the arrangement looks odd, particularly because the oligarch is aligned with Vladimir Putin and has joined Putin on delegations to Beijing. Tillis said Americans already lean toward assuming both parties are corrupt, and that such episodes feed the narrative "whether it's legal or not."

On health care, Tillis said the party-line tax and spending bill will bring significant headwinds, with a 10-year impact. The senator said they backed the bill's tax provisions but objected to health care provisions that went beyond what the House had proposed. Their aim, Tillis said, was less to erase the Medicaid cuts than to change their timing, which they believe is too soon. In North Carolina, more than 25 percent of residents rely on Medicaid. Tillis warned that the effects could feed into the 2029 election.

Brennan then asked about recent Justice Department actions, including a case in Alaska challenging the outcome before it is decided, a warning to California election officials about vote-by-mail ballots, and a step involving Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has not been charged with a crime. Tillis said each should be considered separately. The senator accused California of ballot harvesting and said Alaska's ranked choice voting and a candidate who shares a name with Sen. Dan Sullivan justify a closer look.

Still, Tillis questioned the decision to sue. The senator called it suspicious to file a lawsuit before facts exist to support it, and said federal officials could instead have told Alaska election officials they would be watching closely. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the state's other Republican senator, has said the Justice Department should never have filed the suit. Tillis called Murkowski a friend and said few people know Alaska better. On Omar, Tillis said a member of Congress should face a very high bar for a subpoena or search warrant, and that the Justice Department must be held accountable if the facts are not there.

Turning to Ukraine, Tillis shared concern, voiced by Sen. Kevin Cramer, that one company has too much control over American space capabilities. Elon Musk said on Saturday that SpaceX satellite services had been restored. Tillis said Musk first denied responsibility, attention then moved to the administration, and Musk later said he had done it. The senator said Congress needs to know whether Starshield is controlled by Musk or by the Defense Department. "People died in that intervening time," Tillis said, adding that the government's involvement needs guardrails and accountability.

Tillis helped organize a call with Sen. Richard Blumenthal and President Volodymyr Zelensky this past week. The senator said they were glad capabilities were back but concerned that they are not being expanded. In Tillis's view, Putin is the bad guy and Ukraine is the good country, and the United States and Western European nations should expand support and defeat Putin.

Brennan also raised reports that two, if not three, BC-3 systems failed to detect incoming Russian ballistic missiles into Ukraine, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio attributed to technical issues. Tillis called the question legitimate and said the full timeline should be examined, probably in a secure setting rather than a public hearing. The senator said they do not believe the United States is that vulnerable, and suspects someone needs to own the lapse in service. "This is a simple question. We should have simple answers for it," Tillis said.