RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis is criticizing President Donald Trump's recent pardons, questioning the strategy behind them.
Tillis, appearing on CNN, expressed concerns just hours after Trump pardoned Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case. The president also pardoned former entertainment executive Tim Leiweke, who had been indicted by Trump's own Justice Department.
The senator, who recently announced he will not seek re-election, questioned the decision-making process, stating, "I want to know who is responsible for making the pardon recommendations, what they're thinking. I can't imagine if he had a fulsome explanation of what was going on and how it was gonna be perceived by the American public, Republicans and Democrats, that some of these pardons would have actually occurred."
Earlier this year, Tillis received backlash from President Donald Trump for voting against the "One Big Beautiful Bill," which passed. He said he could not support the mega bill because of Medicaid cuts that he worried would leave many without healthcare in NC.