{"id":1932,"date":"2026-05-19T19:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/19\/senator-bill-cassidy-says-he-has-no-regrets-over-trump-impeachment-vote-after-louisiana-loss\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T19:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:40:19","slug":"senator-bill-cassidy-says-he-has-no-regrets-over-trump-impeachment-vote-after-louisiana-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=1932","title":{"rendered":"Senator Bill Cassidy says he has no regrets over Trump impeachment vote after Louisiana loss"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"7dc78dbc-adbf-416c-9769-047c6c2a0179\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Headshot of man in suit with blue campaign promo as backdrop\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4ce5b82eb71348d32979be166b7ad79f52869be5\/0_0_3852_2568\/master\/3852.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Bill Cassidy speaks to supporters during an election night watch party on 16 May 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.<\/span> Photograph: Gerald Herbert\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"7dc78dbc-adbf-416c-9769-047c6c2a0179\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Bill Cassidy speaks to supporters during an election night watch party on 16 May 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.<\/span> Photograph: Gerald Herbert\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Senator Bill Cassidy says he has no regrets over Trump impeachment vote after Louisiana loss<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Outgoing Republican says backing Trump\u2019s conviction \u2018may have cost me my seat, but who cares?\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Returning to the US Capitol after a stinging primary re-election loss, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/17\/republican-louisiana-senator-bill-cassidy-results-primary-trump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Bill Cassidy, a Republican senator of Louisiana,<\/a> said on Monday evening that he had no regrets about his \u201cmomentous\u201d vote to convict <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Donald Trump<\/a> on 2021 impeachment charges during his first presidency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI voted to uphold the constitution. It may have cost me my seat, but who cares?\u201d Cassidy told reporters in the Capitol. \u201cI had the privilege of voting to uphold the constitution \u2013 isn\u2019t that a great thing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Cassidy lost his seat in his state\u2019s Republican primary on Saturday after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Trump<\/a> 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 his supporters\u2019 January 6 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/us-capitol-breach\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">attack on the Capitol<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">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 \u201cgreat\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cYou\u2019re 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,\u201d Cassidy said. \u201cWouldn\u2019t all of us want to say, I voted to support the constitution on something momentous? That\u2019s the way I feel about it. I\u2019m very pleased about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He now joins a club of Republican lawmakers who have crossed Trump and lost. It remains unclear whether he will join Republican colleagues like Thom Tillis, the North Carolina senator who has become more outspoken since he announced his retirement in June 2025. Cassidy wouldn\u2019t directly criticize Trump on Monday evening, saying that \u201cpeople want me to say negative things, but I\u2019m saying positive things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Still, he did hint that he may have more to say, telling reporters he was undecided on how he will vote on the next Democratic measure to halt the Iran war and criticizing a new nearly $1.8bn fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they have been unjustly investigated and persecuted \u2013 potentially including people who were prosecuted and later pardoned for their roles in the Capitol attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As Cassidy reflected on his two terms in the Senate, his Republican colleagues still loyal to Trump were mostly quiet or dispassionate about his loss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cBill\u2019s loss was predictable, and Bill knew it,\u201d said his Louisiana colleague, the Republican senator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/19\/republican-senator-criticizes-trump-pope-feud\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">John Kennedy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Kennedy said Cassidy decided to run anyway, \u201cand I respect that, and I thank him for his service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Cassidy\u2019s vote to convict Trump on impeachment charges \u201cwas an issue, there\u2019s no question\u201d, Kennedy said. And now, Kennedy said, there\u2019s a 27 June runoff for Cassidy\u2019s seat between Julia Letlow, a Trump-endorsed US House member, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/louisiana\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Louisiana<\/a> state treasurer, John Fleming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator and one of the president\u2019s closest allies, said on Sunday on NBC\u2019s Meet the Press that \u201cthose who try to destroy Trump politically, stand in the way of his agenda, are going to lose\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Trump agreed, posting over the weekend on social media that \u201cit\u2019s nice to see that [Cassidy\u2019s] political career is OVER!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Only Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska senator and one of six other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/republicans\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Republicans<\/a> who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, said she regretted that Cassidy would not be returning to the Senate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">His defeat \u201ccertainly has implications for us here\u201d, she said. \u201cI\u2019ve appreciated working with him and his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Until Saturday, Cassidy was also silent on most controversies involving Trump. And he worked hard to show that he was supportive of the president, most significantly by eventually supporting the nomination of the health and human services secretary, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/robert-f-kennedy-jr\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Robert F Kennedy Jr<\/a>, even after questioning Kennedy\u2019s skepticism of vaccines. As a doctor and the chair of the Senate health, education, labor and pensions committee, Cassidy\u2019s vote was crucial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Cassidy would not say on Monday if he regretted that vote. He compared the vote to a bad date in high school and said \u201clife is lived forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He was more outspoken about Trump\u2019s new \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-dismiss-10-billion-dollar-irs-lawsuit\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">anti-weaponization fund<\/a>\u201d, which is part of an agreement that resolves the president\u2019s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">While other Republicans dodged questions on the fund as they returned to Washington DC on Monday evening, telling reporters they didn\u2019t know enough about it or just declining to weigh in, Cassidy said he saw no precedent for it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe are a nation of laws,\u201d Cassidy said. \u201cYou can\u2019t just make up things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Congress should have a say, he said, adding that people he met on the campaign trail \u201care concerned about making their own ends meet \u2013 not about putting the slush fund together without a legal precedent\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Cassidy\u2019s support for Trump\u2019s conviction in the February 2021 impeachment trial was a surprise, after the mild-mannered doctor had been mostly supportive of \u2013 or at least reluctant to challenge \u2013 Trump through his first presidency. He wrestled with how to vote for days beforehand and declined to comment on the trial before casting his vote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He was one of seven Republicans to vote to convict as the Senate eventually acquitted Trump. The only other two remaining in the Senate are Murkowski and Susan Collins, a Maine senator who is up for re-election as well in her much more moderate state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Cassidy said after the vote in 2021 that he was \u201cat peace\u201d with his decision. But it dogged him for the full five years, and became much more of an issue when Trump was re-elected and Cassidy was running again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">When asked on Monday if he would run for office again, Cassidy made a subtle dig at Trump\u2019s efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat to Joe Biden \u2013 and his falsely claiming that he was defrauded of victory, which preceded the Capitol attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI respect democracy,\u201d Cassidy said. \u201cSo right now that door just seems to be shut.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/republicans\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Republicans<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/louisiana\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Louisiana<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Senator%20Bill%20Cassidy%20says%20he%20has%20no%20regrets%20over%20Trump%20impeachment%20vote%20after%20Louisiana%20loss&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/19\/bill-cassidy-loss-trump-louisiana?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F19%2Fbill-cassidy-loss-trump-louisiana&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/19\/bill-cassidy-loss-trump-louisiana\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bill Cassidy speaks to supporters during an election night watch party on 16 May 2026 in Baton Rouge,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}