Trump exacts revenge on Bill Cassidy by backing possible Republican challenger | Republicans

Donald Trump sought to deal a devastating blow to the re-election chances of Senator Bill Cassidy – the president’s fellow Republican with whom he has had a political rivalry – by giving his “complete and utter support” to a potential opponent in the primary.

Trump’s support for U.S. Congresswoman Julia Letlow as well as her encouragement to run for Cassidy’s Senate seat in Louisiana comes after the senator voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial during Trump’s first presidency.

Cassidy, a physician, had since sought to regain favor with Trump – including voting to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as US health secretary, despite Kennedy’s anti-vaccine activism. And Cassidy had since publicly expressed confidence that Trump would give no support as he seeks re-election in the November midterms.

Nonetheless, Trump posted an article on his Truth Social platform saying that if Letlow “decides to enter this race, [she] has my complete and total approval.

“RUN, JULIA, RUN!!!!” Trump’s message is over.

Cassidy was among seven Republican U.S. senators who broke their party loyalty by voting to convict the president in his second impeachment trial after his supporters led the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Then, in February, Cassidy voted along party lines, joining 51 fellow Republicans to confirm Kennedy as health secretary in the Trump administration. Cassidy has since repeatedly denounced anti-vaccine maneuvers that are consistent with Kennedy’s philosophies, including Louisiana’s decision to ban the promotion of mass vaccination against preventable diseases.

Speaking out against Trump’s snub on Saturday, Cassidy said on

Letlow won a special election for Louisiana’s U.S. House of Representatives seat in 2021, which her husband, Luke, had already won before his death from Covid-19. She became the first Republican woman from Louisiana elected to Congress.

Commenting on social media about the endorsement, Letlow said she was honored to have Trump’s trust. “My mission is clear,” she posted: “to ensure that the nation our children inherit is safer and stronger.”

Candidates for Cassidy’s seat have until February 13 to file their candidacy.

The timing of a potential Cassidy-Letlow election showdown is striking. In 2024, Louisiana lawmakers approved moving to a closed primary system from an open – or “jungle” – system for some elected offices, including Cassidy’s seat.

In an open primary, two candidates from the same party can face each other in a second round if neither of them obtains more than 50% of the votes in the primary. By comparison, the new system virtually guarantees that each of the major parties will have a candidate in the runoff. In his case, Cassidy could only qualify for the runoff if he won his primary, whereas the old system would have allowed him to qualify for the runoff even if he finished second to a Republican in the primary.

According to the New York Times, Trump called Sen. John Thune, the majority leader, on Friday and told him he would likely support Letlow. Thune reportedly encouraged the president to support Cassidy, pointing to the long-term consequences and the fact that Trump was beginning to push a major health care bill that Cassidy would have jurisdiction over as chairman of the Senate Health Committee.