20m ago / 8:30 AM EDTAfter primary loss, Sen. Bill Cassidy defends his 2021 vote to convict Trump Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., yesterday defended his vote to convict Trump on impeachment charges five years ago, saying he would rather be remembered for standing up for his principles even if it ended his career in the Senate.“That may have cost me my seat, but who cares? I had the privilege of voting to uphold the Constitution. Isn’t that a great thing?” Cassidy said to reporters on Capitol Hill two days after he lost his re-election bid in a GOP primary. “When I die, if that’s put in my obituary, ‘he voted to uphold the Constitution’ — I’ll figure that that’s going to be a better obituary.”Read the full story here.57m ago / 7:53 AM EDTPentagon’s internal watchdog to probe U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats The Defense Department inspector general's office said yesterday that it’s investigating U.S. Southern Command over its targeting of alleged drug-smuggling boats in the military’s campaign against drug cartels, which some critics have argued is illegal.Southern Command has targeted nearly 60 small boats the military says were transporting drugs through the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, destroying 59 vessels and killing 193 people since the campaign began last fall, according to the Pentagon.Read the full story here.2h ago / 7:15 AM EDTTrump holds tele-rally for Rep. Barry Moore in his bid for a Senate seat in AlabamaTrump joined a telerally for Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., last night, endorsing him for Senate.Moore introduced Trump at the top of the rally, telling attendees he was “proud to say I was the first elected official in the nation to endorse him in 2015.”Trump said Moore was “in a different league” and had supported Trump “from the very beginning.” He touted Moore’s voting record in support of strict immigration policies, promising Moore would continue to do so. Trump also said Moore would protect veterans, “safeguard” our elections and defend the Second Amendment."Moore is one of six candidates vying for the GOP nomination today. The winning candidate must secure 50% of the vote. If no one candidate reaches the majority, a runoff between the top two finishers will be held on the "fourth Tuesday following the primary."“Alabama, I love you, and I think you love me,” Trump said of the deep-red state. “We’re never going to have a loss in Alabama.”In a 2017 Senate special primary election, Trump’s endorsed candidate — incumbent Luther Strange — lost to Roy Moore in the GOP primary. Roy Moore went on to lose the general election to Democrat Doug Jones.2h ago / 7:15 AM EDTTrump urges Kentucky voters to oust Thomas Massie and back Ed Gallrein in tele-rallyTrump campaigned via phone for three GOP candidates in Kentucky yesterday, urging voters to back candidates that include the challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie.Trump split time during the event advocating for Rep. Andy Barr for Senate, Ralph Alvarado for the 6th Congressional district and Ed Gallrein for the 4th Congressional District where Massie is the representative.“This is a group, great group of people, but that’s in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District against a disastrous Thomas Massie. I say, he’s the worst Republican congressman in the history of the country,” Trump said.“You need to send Ed Gallrein to fight for you in Washington,” Trump said during the call.Gallrein called the primary a “pick a side moment,” arguing that a vote for Massie — who has previously said he votes with the GOP “90% of the time” — would be “picking the radical Democrats” over “President Trump, the Republican Party and the Constitution.”2h ago / 7:15 AM EDTTrump loyalty tests, major battlegrounds and more: What to watch in Tuesday’s electionsTrump’s campaign to suppress dissent in his own party faces its most prominent test yet as he takes aim at Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky today, while GOP candidates across the country look to leverage his endorsement in key primaries. Massie has drawn the most attention from Trump amid repeated clashes with across multiple issues, which prompted Trump’s political operation to pour resources into the campaign. Massie’s primary against Trump-backed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein has drawn more ad spending than any House primary in U.S. history, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Read the full story here.