NORTH CAROLINA -- Sen. Thom Tillis voted against a resolution blocking the president’s emergency declaration, reversing a position he took in an op-ed published last month.

• Speaking on the Senate floor ahead of the Thursday vote, he explained his decision noting that he instead wanted to work with the White House on legislation curbing presidential emergency powers going forward.
• In February, Tillis wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post arguing the president’s emergency declaration aimed at building the southern border wall could set a bad precedent.
• The resolution already passed the House. The president is expected to veto it.

Speaking on the Senate floor ahead of the Thursday vote, he explained his decision, noting that he instead wanted to work with the White House on legislation curbing presidential emergency powers going forward.

“I come to the floor to say I do not intend to vote for the resolution of disapproval,” he said. “A lot has changed over the last three weeks: a discussion with the vice president, a number of senior administration officials.”

In February, Tillis wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post, arguing the president’s emergency declaration aimed at building the southern border wall could set a bad precedent. He suggested he would vote for a Democratic-led resolution, undoing the emergency order.

But in recent days, he appeared to reconsider, expressing openness to siding with the president. He wanted to see a deal where the president would agree to rein in the office’s future emergency powers.

Tillis cosponsored a bill modifying the National Emergencies Act, which the president expressed some openness to in a tweet Thursday.

Tillis is up for re-election next year in a race that could potentially be a nail-biter. Ahead of the vote, he faced mounting pressure from both the president and his own party back home.

On Twitter, the president framed a vote in support of the resolution as a vote for Nancy Pelosi.

In a statement, a spokesman for Rep. Mark Walker, one of those mentioned as a potential challenger, brushed those reports aside, writing, “Walker is humbled to have the support and consideration of conservatives across North Carolina, but is not planning to primary Thom Tillis.”

Other members of the delegation expressed support for Tillis, regardless.

“One vote does not make a senator’s term, and so Thom is going to make the right decision as he sees fit, and I respect his capacity and his decision making,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-10th District.

The 2020 general election is roughly 20 months away.

All told, 12 Senate Republicans joined with Democrats in voting to block the president’s declaration. North Carolina Republican Richard Burr, like Tillis, was not among them.

The resolution already passed the House. The president is expected to veto it.