FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is going all in for President Donald Trump’s controversial FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, despite being considered a wildcard vote ahead of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s nomination.
In a significant show of support, Tillis will introduce Patel in the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing Thursday morning. His speech will be short and sweet, Tillis explained.
“I will be sharing about 700 words on his background, his upbringing, his work as a prosecutor, his work in the administration,” the Republican shared in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
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The senator will also distribute several versions of a Patel-themed bingo game to his colleagues on the committee.
The “K$H Bingo” game includes subjects Tillis expects to be brought up by Democrats during the hearing. The sheet includes subjects such as “Deep State,” “Enemies List” and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), among others.
“I’m also going to be providing a bingo card because I know what everybody else is going to bring up,” he said. “We know what the words are. And they already started it, because when they ran out of things to attack [attorney general nominee] Pam Bondi on, they started attacking Kash.”
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“We know what they’re going to do. And I want to make it clear to them there’s no Perry Mason moment,” the North Carolina senator said. “I’m not going to let innuendo and rumors rule the day. I’m going to hold them accountable.”
Tillis’ hard push for Patel to be advanced and confirmed by the Senate comes just days after Hegseth’s confirmation came down to his vote, which wasn’t at all assured to be in Hegseth’s favor.
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It wasn’t until several minutes after the Hegseth vote had already begun that Tillis released a statement revealing he would support him. He previously told reporters he was still doing due diligence after new allegations surfaced against the nominee.
Hegseth’s former sister-in-law had claimed in an affidavit that Hegseth abused alcohol and made his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, fear for her safety. Tillis told reporters only hours before the confirmation vote he was looking for any corroborating evidence regarding the allegations.
Hegseth answered additional last-minute questions from Tillis, which proved to be to the senator’s satisfaction, since he ultimately voted yes and secured Hegseth’s confirmation.
“Look, I have an obligation to one person in advise and consent, and that is the President of the United States. I take it seriously,” the senator explained.
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“I take it very seriously,” he reiterated. “I did with Pete. I ultimately voted for him and had to dispose of the allegations or assess the allegations that came at the eleventh hour.”
The North Carolina Republican also shared that he thinks his support will be beneficial for Patel.
“I believe I’ve established — even though I can be a pain to some people — as tedious as I can get with completing my due diligence. I think that it brings with it a certain amount of credibility, and that’s why it’s so important to me. I have to be consistent,” Tillis said.
