Thom Tillis is blocking four Trump nominees over Native American Tribe recognition

While I'm happy to see four of Trump's nominees blocked for any reason, I do have to question the purity of Tillis' motivations here. I can't recall a judiciary committee member from either party making a power move like this, and Tillis voted for Emil Bove so he's more than happy to rubber-stamp Trump's worst nominees. Plus, there's usually a lot of casino money behind recognition of a new tribe, and I strongly suspect that is motivating Tillis' actions, rather than any abiding concern for Native Americans. Watch for Tillis to join Kristen Simena as the next thoughtful "moderate" who leaves the Senate to shill for big-money interests.

https://mississippitoday.org/2025/11/12/tillis-blocking-mississippi-nominees-trump-lumbee-north-carolina/

A North Carolina senator is holding up Mississippi’s nominations for federal judgeships and U.S. attorneys because he wants Sen. Roger Wicker to help an indigenous group in his state gain federal recognition as a tribe.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis told a reporter from NOTUS that his block on four Mississippi nominees is due to negotiations with Wicker, Mississippi’s senior senator, over federal recognition of the Lumbee and other issues unrelated to the nominees themselves. Wicker serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which has enormous sway over the legislation in which the Lumbee tribe would be recognized.

“Roger’s one of my favorite people here, and, you know, it’s just a matter of using the leverage people use every day here,” Tillis said.

Wicker’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The Lumbee is a group of indigenous people in North Carolina that has been seeking federal recognition as a tribe for over a century. But other federally recognized tribes have opposed the effort.

Tillis has been a vocal supporter of federal recognition for the Lumbee. He is not running for reelection in 2026, so next year will be his final opportunity to secure a bipartisan bill for the indigenous people.

President Donald Trump has also supported federal recognition for the Lumbee.

Most of North Carolina’s congressional delegation supports federal recognition of the Lumbee. Language granting them federal recognition was added to the House version of the Pentagon’s annual spending blueprint.

But language about the Lumbee was not included in the Senate’s version of the blueprint.

Tillis also said he is negotiating with Wicker over other issues, but he declined to say what the issues were.

In August, Trump nominated Robert Chamberlin and James Maxwell, both justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court, to vacant federal judgeships in northern Mississippi. Trump in July nominated Scott Leary and Baxter Kruger, his choices for U.S. attorney for the Northern and Southern districts of Mississippi, respectively.

None of the four nominees responded to requests for comment. Both Wicker and Mississippi’s other U.S. senator, Cindy Hyde-Smith, support the nominees, though neither is a member of the Judiciary Committee.