Paige Masten says Tillis voted for Hegseth despite believing he was unfit
Paige MastenDeputy opinion editor of The Charlotte Observer, writing an opinion column
In a column on Tillis's book, Masten wrote that its account of the Hegseth vote shows how convinced Tillis was that Hegseth was unfit before he voted for him, and that he was unwilling to cast the deciding vote against the nomination.
Responding to
Before casting the deciding vote, Tillis had found "compelling evidence" that the allegations about Hegseth's management style, treatment of women and drinking had substance.
“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.”
Analysis
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
Analysis
About this source
An opinion column by the Charlotte Observer's deputy opinion editor on the first chapter of Tillis's book, titled My Biggest Regret. It quotes the book's account of why he voted yes.
Before the quotation
Masten writes: "One of the most infuriating admissions occurs in the book's first chapter," where Tillis describes his decision to vote to confirm Hegseth and calls it the biggest regret of his career.
After the quotation
She continues: "Though his gut told him that Hegseth should not be confirmed, Tillis was simply unwilling to cast the deciding vote on Hegseth's nomination." She then quotes the book: "My vote would be the one to sink him, and in the first weeks of a new administration, for a president I supported and for whom this meant so much, I just couldn't do it," Tillis wrote. "When the time came, I voted yes." Later in the column she makes a similar argument about his vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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, Masten presents it as a vote he cast while convinced Hegseth was unfit, and calls his account of it one of the book's most infuriating admissions. That condemns the vote. She notes that his regret is not new and writes that his confessions mean little given what she describes as harm under Hegseth, so his regret does not soften her conclusion. Her criticism of his Kennedy vote is a separate matter and is not the basis for this label.
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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
Radley Balko calls Tillis a coward over his deciding vote for Hegseth
“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.”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. "Paige Masten says Tillis voted for Hegseth despite believing he was unfit". First published: 2026-10-13. Last updated: 2026-10-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/5642-in-a-column-on-tillis-s-book-masten