Radley Balko calls Tillis a coward over his deciding vote for Hegseth
Radley BalkoJournalist and author of The Watch newsletter, posting on Bluesky
Balko wrote that Tillis persuaded "the woman Hegseth allegedly raped" to come forward, told her that doing so would sink the nomination and then cast the deciding vote for Hegseth. He called Tillis "a goddamned coward."
“Just a reminder: Tillis persuaded the woman Hegseth allegedly raped to come forward with her story, and told her that if she did, it would sink the nomination. She did. At great risk to herself. Tillis then cast the deciding vote for Hegseth. Because he’s a goddamned coward.”
Original post
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Where this statement fits
Was Thom Tillis wrong to vote to confirm Pete Hegseth?
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) cast the 50th vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense on January 24, 2025, and Vice President JD Vance broke the 50-50 tie. Tillis said at the time that he had deferred to the Armed Services Committee and done his own due diligence, and in July 2025 he said he did not regret the vote based on what he knew then. In October 2026, promoting his book How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents, he called the vote the biggest regret of his career and said he made a mistake. Critics say he had reason to vote no before he voted, pointing to his call with Hegseth's former sister-in-law days before she signed an affidavit alleging alcohol abuse and mistreatment of his second wife, allegations Hegseth denied. The dispute is whether Tillis was wrong to vote yes on what he knew in January 2025.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Balko posted this after Tillis's regret over the vote was reported. The post refers to the woman Tillis spoke with before the vote as the woman Hegseth allegedly raped; the reporting identifies that person as Danielle Hegseth, his former sister-in-law.
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About this source
In an interview with Fox News Digital a week after the vote, Tillis described his call with Danielle Hegseth and said he could not find anyone to corroborate her account.
Reporting
About this source
NBC News reported the contents of Danielle Hegseth's affidavit, which it reviewed in redacted form, along with denials from Samantha Hegseth and from Pete Hegseth's lawyer. The affidavit says she was assured that her statement would lead undecided senators to vote against the nomination.
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About this source
Political Wire quotes a Wall Street Journal report that Tillis told Danielle Hegseth in a January 19, 2025 call, witnessed by two other people, that her sworn statement would carry weight and could move three Republican votes, including his own. The Journal's original article is behind a paywall.
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About this source
Stars and Stripes reported the committee's 14-13 vote to send the nomination to the Senate floor over Democratic objections, and the allegations Democrats cited against Hegseth: mismanagement of two veterans organizations, drinking at work and a 2017 sexual assault accusation.
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About this source
NBC News reported Tillis's remarks to CNN's Jake Tapper on July 9, 2025, including that he did not regret his vote based on what he knew at the time.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Balko posted after reports of Tillis's regret over the vote, linking an MS NOW article in which Tillis discussed it.
After the quotation
The woman Tillis spoke with before the vote, according to the Wall Street Journal report and Tillis's own account, was Danielle Hegseth, Hegseth's former sister-in-law. Her affidavit, as NBC News reported it, described alleged alcohol abuse and mistreatment of his second wife. The 2017 sexual assault accusation against Hegseth, which he denied, was a separate allegation. The Journal reported that Tillis told her the statement would carry weight and could move three votes; Tillis said he told her it would carry weight if it could be corroborated.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to Tillis's January 2025 vote, Balko condemns it as cowardice and a betrayal of a witness he says Tillis encouraged. The post responds to Tillis's new regret but treats the vote itself as the wrong, so it condemns the vote rather than the regret. Its description of the witness is inaccurate, as the context notes; the target of the criticism is still clear.
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- Thom Tillis
More from this case
Read the full caseTillis says he made a mistake in voting to confirm Hegseth
“I made a mistake. I’ve admitted that I made a mistake.”Read statement
Paige Masten says Tillis voted for Hegseth despite believing he was unfit
“That Tillis regrets voting for Hegseth is not a new revelation. But what is new — and startling — is just how convinced he was that Hegseth was unfit for the job before voting for him.”Read statement
Ana Navarro tells Tillis he voted for nominees his book calls unqualified
“I feel you were very inconsistent in this book because, on the one hand, you go through all of the reasons why Hegseth was unqualified. You go through all of the reasons why [Kristi] Noem was unqualified. You kept calling her like an unqualified dog killer, and yet you voted for them.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Radley Balko calls Tillis a coward over his deciding vote for Hegseth". First published: 2026-10-13. Last updated: 2026-10-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/5640-balko-wrote-that-tillis-persuaded-the-woman-hegseth