Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), fresh off a stunning primary election loss over the weekend to two Republican challengers, holds no remorse for actions that likely cost him his political career.
That includes his 2021 vote to convict President Donald Trump of impeachment over the U.S. Capitol riot.
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“I voted to uphold the Constitution. That may have cost me my seat, but who cares?” Cassidy told reporters Monday evening just off the Senate floor. “I had the privilege of voting to uphold the Constitution. Isn’t that a great thing? Wouldn’t all of us want to say, ‘My, I voted to support the Constitution on something momentous’? That’s the way I feel about it. I’m very pleased about it.”
“When I die,” he later added, “if that’s put in my obituary, ‘He voted to uphold the Constitution,’ that’s going to be a better obituary.”
Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming led Saturday’s primary with 44.8% and 28.3% of the vote, respectively. The duo advanced to a June 27 runoff. Cassidy placed third with less than 25% of the vote.
A conservative who has largely aligned with Trump’s second term but has been critical of health policies and nominees, Cassidy will have the political freedom to wield immense power in a chamber Republicans control by just three seats, should he choose to use it. But the second-term senator did not express an appetite for vengeance against the president by acting as a swing vote, and his GOP colleagues do not expect him to undermine party priorities, including a party-line immigration enforcement bill Senate Republicans hope to pass later this week.
“It’ll be more bringing to completion things I’ve been working hard on and getting stuff that I’ve been working on, that won’t pass this Congress, firmly into somebody else’s office,” said Cassidy, citing Social Security’s impending insolvency as a leading issue he’s long sought to address.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who backed Cassidy over Letlow despite Trump’s position, praised Cassidy as a “team player,” a “very principled conservative,” and a “very independent thinker.” GOP leadership, Cassidy, and Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) plan to remain neutral in the runoff between Letlow and Fleming.
“I think he obviously wants to see our team succeed, and he’s got a lot of things I’m sure that he wants to accomplish in his remaining time here,” Thune told the Washington Examiner. “I suspect he’ll be working closely with his Republican colleagues to achieve those things, and work with us to hopefully help us achieve our broader goals and objectives.”
Still, Cassidy would not rule out potential areas where he may diverge from his party or Trump as he criticized Congress for not doing more to “hold the executive branch accountable.”
He declined to reveal how he would vote later this week on a Democratic-led war powers resolution to curb Trump’s ability to continue war against Iran and on the GOP’s immigration push known as a reconciliation bill. Notably, he slammed the Justice Department’s creation of a nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate Trump allies who claim they’ve been unjustly targeted for criminal prosecution. They could include those convicted, and later pardoned by Trump, for offenses related to the Capitol riot.
“I don’t actually see any legal precedent for that. We are a nation of laws, you can’t just make up things whole piece,” Cassidy said. “It is as if somebody sued themselves and agreed upon a settlement with themselves that’s going to be funded by the rest of us. Now, if that’s the case: What? Wait a second. When I just came off the campaign trail, people are concerned about making their own ends meet, not about putting a slush fund together without a legal precedent.”
Cassidy also compared Trump’s reliance on implementing policies through executive orders rather than Congress to cotton candy that can be easily dissolved by a Democratic administration.
“It tastes good for the moment, but you need something which has a lasting impact upon our country,” he said.
Cassidy, a doctor by trade, pledged further to “absolutely” hold Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accountable, “not to be destructive” but to “be constructive.” Despite repeatedly clashing with Kennedy’s vaccine stances and playing a crucial role in the Cabinet member’s confirmation, Cassidy held no remorse for supporting him and flatly rejected that it was a political calculation to curry favor with Trump.
Cassidy’s concession speech in the moments after his defeat offered another window into how he may more freely air his disagreements with the president, whom he criticized for false 2020 stolen election claims and brash online criticisms.
“When you take part in democracy, sometimes things don’t go your way,” Cassidy told supporters, without invoking Trump’s name. “But you don’t sulk, you don’t complain, and you don’t say the election was stolen.”
Trump celebrated Cassidy’s loss, posting on Truth Social that the senator’s “disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!”
THUNE STAYING NEUTRAL AFTER CASSIDY LOSES SHOT AT LOUISIANA SENATE RUNOFF
One thing that’s likely not in Cassidy’s future is another run for public office. The 68-year-old signaled Monday that any future campaigns were likely out of the question once his term ends in January 2027.
“I am so grateful for the 12 years, and I so respect democracy. I so respect democracy,” Cassidy said. “I may not like the outcome. I respect democracy. And so, right now that door just seems to be shut.”
