House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Sunday pushed aside concerns that Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) primary loss signals the Republican Party has become beholden to President Donald Trump.Cassidy lost his primary election over the weekend after Trump endorsed one of his rivals. Trump made the decision after expressing outrage that the “very disloyal” lawmaker voted to impeach him in 2021. The president has also expressed concern that the senator, a medical doctor who chairs the Senate health committee, failed to show adequate support for the White House’s “Make America Great Again” agenda. When asked to weigh in on concerns that Cassidy’s loss shows there is no room for dissent within Trump’s GOP, Johnson said he still often sees robust disagreements within the party in Congress.
“You see dissent here every day. I mean, I deal with it all day long with the smallest margin in history, working through people’s philosophical differences and preferences,” Johnson said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. “But this is a vibrant party, it’s a strong party. We are in a great position to win the midterms and defy history.”
“It’s true that President Trump has a huge influence in [Louisiana], as he does still across the country, and you see that over and over in all these elections,” he added. “It’s the most powerful endorsement in the history of politics, and it continues to be shown.”
