Sen. Bill Cassidy’s defeat shows the price of dissent in Trump’s Republican Party

2026 ElectionSen. Bill Cassidy’s defeat shows the price of dissent in Trump’s Republican PartyThe senator lost his primary in Louisiana Saturday night, five years after voting to convict Trump on impeachment charges following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Sen. Bill Cassidy at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 15.Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 16, 2026, 11:35 PM EDTBy Sahil KapurSen. Bill Cassidy’s primary loss Saturday brings an end to a two-decade career in public office that was ultimately defined by tensions with President Donald Trump.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.And when Republicans have tensions with Trump, the president usually wins.Cassidy failed to advance in the Republican primary in Louisiana, as Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming are projected to face off in a June 27 runoff. The winner in the GOP contest will be the heavy favorite this fall in ruby-red Louisiana.The result marks another trophy for Trump’s collection in his ongoing bid to oust Republicans perceived as disloyal to him.Throughout Cassidy’s career, there were occasional signs that the physician-turned-politician wasn’t quite in lockstep with his party on a handful of issues, including around health care. But Cassidy’s cardinal sin, in the eyes of Trump and his supporters, was voting in 2021 to convict the then-former president on impeachment charges of inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6.Cassidy had just won re-election weeks earlier by a dominant margin. His vote after the impeachment trial was seen as something of a surprise by a senator not known for bucking his party once the dust settled.It went against a pattern for Cassidy over his Senate tenure: a tendency to express moderate instincts and occasional disagreements with his party more through words than votes. This time, though, he broke with mos...