Trump’s ouster of Republican senator sends shockwaves through Senate GOP

The resounding defeat of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) in Saturday’s Louisiana primary has sent shockwaves through the Senate Republican Conference, underscoring how Republicans who look to distance themselves from President Trump and his low approval ratings will have to think twice about paying a political price for perceived disloyalty.

Cassidy’s ouster came a few weeks after Trump and his allies helped defeat five state senators in Indiana who defied Trump’s desire to redraw the state’s congressional map, sending a loud message to any Republican on Capitol Hill thinking about clashing with the president.

“It’s hard to confuse that message. The message is the one unifying principle of the Republican Party today is Donald Trump, and if you appear to abandon him, the party will abandon you,” said Vin Weber, a GOP strategist and former member of the House Republican leadership.

Cassidy was viewed as an underdog in the Louisiana primary against Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.), who was endorsed by Trump, but the fact that the two-term incumbent mustered only 25 percent of the vote and failed to make the June 27 runoff came as a shock to some of his Senate GOP colleagues. Former Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) came in second with 28 percent.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) offered a subdued response Monday afternoon when asked about Cassidy’s decisive defeat and praised his colleague.

“Bill Cassidy is a very principled conservative, very independent thinker and probably knew the challenges he was up against in that race. The way it turned out, obviously, the Republican voters of Louisiana have spoken, and so we’ll move on,” he said.

He said Cassidy “can be a real force for change and a factor in trying to get some things done,” noting that as Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chair, Cassidy heads “an incredibly significant and powerful committee here.”

Thune’s praise of Cassidy stood in stark contrast to Trump’s Sunday post on Truth Social rejoicing in the Louisiana senator’s........

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