GOP senator signals he's ready to take on Trump once again

A GOP lawmaker is standing up to Trump's crusade against his enemies once again, questioning the latest efforts.

“I can’t find one example where the number 86 had anything to do with any violent threat," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters on Wednesday, speaking about the second James Comey indictment, according to the Bulwark. “I searched to the end of the Internet last night."

Tillis was previously a key player in pushing back against the probe into Fed Chairman Jerome Powell by voting against the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, Trump's pick to replace Powell. Although Trump said that the probe isn't gone, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro issued a statement that it wouldn't carry on, and it seems to have died down.

Now, Tillis is signaling that he's not on board with the Department of Justice's case against Comey. The Bulwark described Tillis as "deeply skeptical" of the indictment when talking to reporters. The article, titled "Todd Blanche Has a Thom Tillis Problem," noted that, as he did with Warsh, Tillis could be in a position to block the appointment of acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche as the permanent DOJ head.

"In the prosecution of Powell, he's been a shining reminder that the Trump administration isn't as all-powerful as it would like to pretend," journalist Andrew Egger noted for the Bulwark. "All it takes to back them down sometimes is a little backbone. So how about it, Thom?"