WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is fighting a two-front war at the outset of this year's midterm campaigns, working to prevent Democratic victories while also attempting to purge the Republican Party of the few remaining members who have defied him over the years.
Sen. Bill Cassidy became Trump's latest target on Tuesday when Rep. Julia Letlow announced a primary challenge with the president's endorsement. Cassidy had been unable to work his way back into Trump's good graces after voting to convict the president during his 2021 impeachment trial after the Jan. 6. attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Not even Cassidy's crucial support for longtime anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be health secretary, despite reservations stemming from Cassidy's own background as a doctor, was enough to salvage his standing with Trump.
The race puts Trump directly at odds with Senate Republican leadership, who are backing incumbents and contending with an emboldened Democratic effort to win back control of the chamber. Trump has also declined to endorse Sen. John Cornyn in a Texas primary and said Sen. Susan Collins in Maine “should never be elected to office again” even as she fights to hold a seat critical to Republican control.
Trump previously pushed Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina toward the exits after they clashed over cuts to healthcare programs in the president's signature legislation last year, increasing the chance that Roy Cooper, the former Democratic governor, could win the seat.
The situation has caused concern among some Republicans.
“Anything that distracts from our efforts to beat Democrats in November is unhelpful,” said Alex Latcham, director of the Senate Leadership Fund, a campaign organization aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, on Tuesday.
Trump serves as Republican enforcer
While all White Houses try to enforce some level of party loyalty, Trump has distinguished himself with the durability and severity of his grudges, as well as the extent of his political dominance despite being constitutionally prevented from running for another term.
The president's falling out with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia prompted her to resign. Meanwhile, Trump is backing a primary challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky. Both feuded with Trump over his reluctance to release documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Trump is even willing to dip into statehouse politics. After Indiana rejected a White House-backed plan for redrawing congressional maps, Trump pledged to defeat Republican state Senate Leader Rodric Bray.
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said Bray “betrayed the Republican Party, the President of the United States and everyone else who wants to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump seems willing to hold back in some situations where turmoil could cost his party seats in Washington. For example, he hasn't backed a challenger for Collins, who relishes opportunities to distance herself from Trump and is viewed as the only Republican who can hold her seat in Democratic-tilting Maine.
“As long as he’s going after people in safe Republican seats, it may be a distraction or an unwanted hassle in those states or districts, but in the end, it’s not going to hurt us as a party,” said Saul Anuzis, a former Michigan Republican Party chairman.
Trump pushed Republicans toward confrontation in Louisana
Letlow, a reliable Trump vote in the House but lower profile than some of the president's more visible devotees, had been weighing a Senate campaign since last year, when Cassidy's strained relationship with Trump began drawing Republican challengers.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry discussed with Trump last May the idea of Letlow running against Cassidy, but the two-term representative was leaning against it according to fellow Republicans from the state. But, after a meeting with Landry on Friday, Trump pledged his support to Letlow on Saturday if she jumped into the race.
Cassidy's support for convicting Trump after his 2021 impeachment following Jan. 6 has shadowed him in Louisiana. He also called for Trump to drop his 2024 comeback campaign because he was facing criminal charges.
Once Trump emerged as the party’s frontrunner, Cassidy tried to return to the fold, with his official social media accounts consistently praising the president and casting him as a member of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
As Senate health committee chairman, Cassidy provided the decisive vote to advance Kennedy's controversial nomination as health secretary, despite the senator expressing concerns about Kennedy’s views on vaccines. Cassidy explained his vote, saying he’d received assurances that Kennedy would not pursue certain changes to U.S. vaccine policy. Kennedy has proceeded to roll back U.S. vaccine recommendations.
Trump backed Letlow in a Truth Social post on Saturday. “Highly Respected America First Congresswoman, Julia Letlow, of the wonderful State of Louisiana, is a Great Star, has been from the very beginning, and only gets better!” he wrote. “Julia Letlow has my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, JULIA, RUN!!!”
Letlow announced her candidacy on Tuesday morning at a breakfast event in Baton Rouge.
“It’s an honor to share with you, after the endorsement and encouragement from the president, the president of the United States, Trump, that today I will officially be announcing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate,” she said in audio of her remarks obtained by The Associated Press.
Cassidy, meanwhile, still has Trump featured in his social media accounts. Pinned atop his campaign X account is a snapshot of a red Trump hat, signed by the president and given to the senator in the Oval Office. Atop his official Senate account is a picture from the same day last fall, with Trump seated at his desk and Cassidy smiling over his shoulder.
“Great to be with @POTUS in the Oval Office today!” Cassidy wrote. “This is what a great working relationship looks like.”
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Barrow reported from Atlanta. Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
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