President Trump said on Saturday that it’s “nice to see” Sen. Bill Cassidy’s career is over following his humiliating performance in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate in Louisiana.
“Bill Cassidy, after falsely using his ‘relationship’ with me during his political career, and winning Elections because of it, voted to impeach me on preposterous charges that were fake then, and now, are criminally insane!” Trump said.
“His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER! I’d like to thank the Great People of the State of Louisiana, and this Big Victory will only make me work even harder for your success, and all that comes with it,” he continued.
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Cassidy finished third in Saturday’s primary, failing to qualify for the June 27 runoff.
Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming will face off in the runoff.
BREAKING: U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming will face each other in a June 27 runoff for the Republican Senate nomination in Louisiana. Read more: https://t.co/zJBc22BPid pic.twitter.com/cFodV7O5BZ
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 17, 2026
Fox News shared further:
With most results tabulated late in the evening, Letlow stood at 45% of the vote, Fleming at roughly 28% and Cassidy at just under 25%, Since no candidate cracked 50% of the vote, Letlow and Fleming will advance to next month’s runoff for the Republican nomination. And Cassidy becomes the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012.
While he wasn’t on the ballot, Trump is a winner, as the primary in the solidly red state was the latest test of his endorsements in GOP nomination races and of the president’s immense grip over the Republican Party.
Trump on Saturday morning took aim at Cassidy, arguing the senator is “a disloyal disaster” and “a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA.”
And after Cassidy was defeated, Trump returned to social media to revel in the senator’s ouster, saying “it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!”
Cassidy, in a speech to supporters after conceding, said “when you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to.”
“But you don’t pout, you don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen… You don’t manufacture some excuse,” Cassidy said in an apparent jab at Trump. “You thank the voters for the privilege of representing the state or the country for as long as you’ve had that privilege. And that’s what I’m doing right now.”
“THANK YOU, LOUISIANA! Louisiana made it clear tonight: we are ready for strong conservative leadership that will stand with President Trump and never waver. Because of your support, your prayers, and your belief in this campaign, we are one step closer to sending that leadership to the United States Senate,” Letlow said.
THANK YOU, LOUISIANA!
Louisiana made it clear tonight: we are ready for strong conservative leadership that will stand with President Trump and never waver.
Because of your support, your prayers, and your belief in this campaign, we are one step closer to sending that… pic.twitter.com/gGlWLqOT6o
— Julia B Letlow, Ph.D. (@jbletlow) May 17, 2026
“Cassidy, 68, was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021,” CBS News noted.
CBS News projects Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana state Treasurer John Fleming advanced to a runoff in Saturday’s Senate Republican primary, knocking out incumbent GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy.
Cassidy, 68, was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump in his… pic.twitter.com/K2YUmwHa8J
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 17, 2026
CBS News has more:
Letlow, 45, became the first Republican woman elected to represent Louisiana in Congress in 2021 after winning a special election for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District following the death of her husband, who died in 2020 from complications related to COVID-19 before he could be sworn into office. She’s hammered Cassidy as disloyal to the GOP, claiming Louisiana “shouldn’t have to wonder how our senator will vote when the pressure’s on.”
Letlow had touted her endorsement from Mr. Trump, while Fleming, who worked in the first Trump administration and represented Louisiana in the U.S. House, had called himself “the only conservative MAGA Republican” in the race.
In addition to his vote to impeach Mr. Trump, Cassidy has been at odds with the administration over HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership, despite delivering the key vote to advance Kennedy’s nomination last year. Cassidy, a medical doctor, has broken with the HHS secretary on multiple occasions, including slamming a change to the hepatitis B vaccine schedule for infants and calling for the postponement of key vaccine advisory panel meetings.
While Letlow accused Cassidy of not being sufficiently conservative, Cassidy claimed the same about his Trump-backed opponent, pointing to comments she made in 2020 supporting DEI programs in education. Fleming had also accused Letlow of supporting DEI.
The contest is the latest sign of the president’s influence, despite approaching the back half of his final term. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump’s gambit to push Republicans out of the state Senate in Indiana who defied his redistricting efforts were largely successful.
Meanwhile, the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, had supported Cassidy, who was seeking a third term in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Thursday that “Bill Cassidy has been a terrific senator for Louisiana.”
