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.“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.
