As Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) faces a fight for his political future, he’s been in the center of the action in the opening months of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The Louisiana Republican attracted headlines for his initial skepticism — and eventual support — of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary. But as Cassidy stares down a right-wing primary challenge inspired by his 2021 vote to convict Trump following the Jan. 6 insurrection, he wants to reorient the narrative around the national debt.
As reconciliation kicks into gear, Cassidy told us in an interview that he sees the rising U.S. debt as an existential threat to the country’s status as a great power. While the Louisiana Republican voted to advance the Senate GOP budget resolution last week, Cassidy said he wants “the House to succeed” in their aggressive plans to cut the deficit.
“Twenty percent of our revenue is currently going for debt service and that’s growing,” Cassidy said. “At one point, 100% of the revenue is going to go for Medicare, Social Security and interest payments. You cannot preserve the American Dream by having that much of your revenue go for only three programs.”
Cassidy said he expects the national debt to rise to $65 trillion during the next ten years, which he said would spell disaster for future aspiring homeowners and the middle class.
“We are now at almost a 20-year high for 30-year mortgage rates. If it goes up higher, it’s going to be that much more difficult for people to afford it,” Cassidy said.
So where to cut? Cassidy notably appeared content for the Senate to take a back seat to the House.
Cassidy mentioned that the House Education and Workforce Committee is looking to roll back the Biden administration’s student debt forgiveness plan. When we brought up PBM reform, Cassidy didn’t seem too enthused and said the policy wouldn’t shrink the debt.
2026 watch: Republicans see Cassidy as the Senate GOP incumbent most vulnerable to a primary challenge. Cassidy voted to convict Trump four years ago, which has motivated former Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) to try to unseat Cassidy.
We asked whether Cassidy is seeking an endorsement from Trump in the race. Here’s his response, which was instructive in its evasiveness:
“I just find that good policy is good politics. I’ve been working really hard for my state, really hard and people can look at tangible things,” Cassidy said.
“Oh, we have money for this bridge. Oh, we’re doing this coastal restoration project. Oh, we just cut the ribbon on something to expand the Internet. We now have flood mitigation projects taking place because of the infrastructure bill. You put all that together, and I think I got a pretty nice record to run on.”
