WASHINGTON (AP) — Returning to the U.S. Capitol after a stinging primary reelection loss, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said Monday evening that he has no regrets about his "momentous" vote to convict President Donald Trump on impeachment charges five years ago.
"I voted to uphold the Constitution. It may have cost me my seat, but who cares?" Cassidy told reporters in the Capitol. "I had the privilege of voting to uphold the Constitution, isn't that a great thing?"
Cassidy lost his seat in his state's Republican primary Saturday after Trump endorsed one of his opponents, and after years of trying to convince his voters that he was still supportive of the president even though he had voted to convict Trump in a Senate impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
But after years of curtly dodging questions about his impeachment vote — and often saying nothing at all when pressed in the Capitol hallways — Cassidy now says he feels "great."
"You're looking at a man who loves his country, who feels very, very good about how I serve my country and my Constitution and my fellow Americans," Cassidy said. "Wouldn't all of us want to say, I voted to support the Constitution on something momentous? That's the way I feel about it. I'm very pleased about it."
