Transcript: Thom Tillis Raises Concerns About Election Lawsuits and Ukraine Support

Health care and voter concerns

Margaret Brennan cited CBS polling showing 83% of voters viewed corruption as a concern when deciding how to vote, with more seeing it as an issue for Republicans. She asked how the party could address that perception.

Brennan also asked Tillis about the effects of a Republican-backed tax and spending bill that included Medicaid cuts, and whether he expected severe health care reductions in the new year. She noted that more than 25 percent of North Carolina residents rely on Medicaid and said the state was planning ahead. The transcript does not include Tillis’s response to those questions.

Tillis questions Alaska lawsuit

Brennan raised Justice Department actions involving Alaska’s election, California’s vote-by-mail ballots and an inquiry involving Rep. Ilhan Omar, who had not been charged with a crime. She asked whether Tillis saw a pattern and whether he supported the actions so close to an election.

Tillis said he was concerned about filing a lawsuit before facts supporting it were known. He said he did not object to examining the issue, but criticized what he described as a preemptive approach. He also referred to claims that Democrats had manipulated the system and suggested Sen. Chuck Schumer may have been involved.

Questions over satellite capabilities

Tillis said he was dissatisfied with the public account of an interruption involving Starlink and Starshield. He cited Elon Musk’s changing statements about his role and questioned whether an important tool used by Western nations could depend on one company chief executive.

Tillis said he wanted answers about whether Starshield was controlled by Musk or someone in the Department of Defense. He welcomed the return of existing capabilities but expressed concern that they were not being expanded.

Call for stronger Ukraine support

Tillis described Vladimir Putin as an adversary and Ukraine as a country deserving support. He said the United States and other Western European nations should expand their capabilities and help Ukraine defeat Putin. The transcript ends during Tillis’s remarks about Putin, so it does not provide the full conclusion of his statement.