It’s a time-honored tradition in Washington. When a politician of sufficient fame (modestly speaking, not like Hale Boggs fame) prepares to leave office voluntarily or not. There’s a rote press regimen premised on “[Insert Name] Finally Lets Loose.” These tend to be a little more nutritious than other political calories like the obligatory candidate memoir because the incentives are different. If the retiree intends to stay in town as a lobbyist, power broker, or media personality, they can calibrate up or down but it’s all a matter of degree.
In spite of knowing that, I had hoped for more from outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).
Good tsar, bad boyars
His outspokenness in the last year is part of what contributed to putting him on POTUS’s naughty list this cycle. His criticisms of the Administration having already been in fourth gear, one thought post-primary he could really redline the engine.
But what we got is more cruise control.
He previoisly yelled at a DHS Secretary, shaded a DOD Secretary, and otherwise criticized an Acting Attorney General and FHFA Director (all of whom he voted in favor of confirming, although not likely again).
Up to this point his very pointed complaints, including in-person confrontations, were limited to any official with the job description “not Commander-in-Chief.” And explicitly so, going so far as to clarify his beef is strictly not Presidential. In a recent exit interview, Tillis made clear he blames Hegseth and not Stephen Miller on misinforming the President on the Iran War, after calling for Miller’s firing [checks notes] two months prior.
Above all, he insists, he does not blame Trump. As he explains:
“Do you really believe that the CEO of a Fortune 50 company can possibly know everything that there is to know about running that company?”
Certainly not. The head of a large enterprise by necessity has to delegate. They can’t possibly stay on top of everything.
Like if the company undertakes a violent immigration crackdown, exfiltrates a foreign head of state, or declares war (excuse me, “a little excursion”) on Iran, the CEO can’t get bogged down in all that. That’s why you have middle management.
If an interim general counsel puts together a $1.776B compensation fund for victims of corporate malfeasance, you can’t assume the CEO knew anything about it (even if the boss is really big on semiquincentennial branding).
UPDATE 2: Fortunately Tillis’s “got a positive predisposition towards” that particular attorney.
UPDATE: On ODNI Acting Director Bill Pulte's reported firings: “it’s going to be another hot steaming pile of DOGE shit.” No mention of whether he believes this rises to the level of “CEO” needing to be made aware.
Or…we’ve got a good tsar, bad boyars problem. If you prefer, a “naive executive phenomenon” [derogatory]. This refers to the subterfuge insulating leaders of Russia to varying degrees for 500 years, whereby the “CEO’s” power and popularity is maintained by always blaming the advisors for the people’s suffering, of which Ivan the Terrible or Putin or whomever is unaware. It’s also the premise of the hilarious movie The Death of Stalin.
At some point you’ve got to realize your message isn’t saying what you think it’s saying. And if this is YOLO behavior, I’d suggest you need to increase your discount rate.
Drunken Master
I entertained the possibility that Tillis was employing some jiu-jitsu, drunken master kung fu move to criticize the President in a clever indirect way. Kinda like that “Everyone out!” scene from Austin Powers in Goldmember.
Please tell me that’s the case. I want to believe. A real-time Straussian reading of the text!
It’s unclear whether the press corp dutifully quoting his characterization of the J6 fund as a “payout pot for punks” and that he solely blames DOJ apparatchiks understand the irony or not. I’m resigned to think they’re just providing a “pusillanimous platform for…” what were we talking about?
The gloves come off
The idiom refers to boxers removing protective gear as a metaphor for a full on (figurative) fight. But boxers also take their gloves off when the fight is over and they exit the ring.
To be fair, there are justifiable political reasons to stop just short of direct confrontation with President Trump. To the degree there are still policy priorities worth fighting for, like state disaster funding, one wants to avoid doing any permanent damage.
But ad hominem attacks on wayward advisors, who by your own conceit have the President’s ear, have likely already done the damage. If you’re in your YOLO phase, might as well go hard in the paint because you won’t come back from this.