News & Observer: “It was a phone call from Whatley, while the bill was making its way through the U.S. Senate, that led to [Berger’s] public show of support.”

In new reporting from the News & Observer, Michael Whaltey was caught not just cheering on the GOP’s toxic bill that guts Medicaid but also playing an active, direct role in aiding its passage, pressuring North Carolina elected officials to publicly back it.

Thanks to Whatley and the dangerous bill he helped ram through, hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians are at risk of losing their health care and five rural hospitals across the state could be forced to close their doors.

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News & Observer: How NC’s Berger broke from Tillis on Medicaid after a call from a Trump ally

Danielle Battaglia | September 22, 2025

• A Trump administration official told U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and state Senate leader Phil Berger, during a June meeting, that the One Big Beautiful Bill would have significant impacts on their state’s Medicaid program. 
• Berger embraced the legislation, posting his support on social media — something he said then-Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley asked him to do. 
• Tillis was unable to stop the bill’s passage, which has put more than half a million people in North Carolina at risk of losing their health care coverage.
• Berger told McClatchy in a written statement that it was a phone call from Whatley, while the bill was making its way through the U.S. Senate, that led to his public show of support.
• Whatley’s team confirmed he made the call to Berger. 

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