Paige Masten
Role at the time: Deputy opinion editor of The Charlotte Observer, writing an opinion column
Response to this claim
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.”
Why we used 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.