The Senate GOP establishment has mustered a noticeably tepid response to President Donald Trump’s body blow against veteran Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) formally launched a Senate bid on Tuesday at an event that Cassidy had a ticket to attend. Trump endorsed Letlow over the weekend, handing her a coup in a deep-red state and further harming Cassidy, one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump following his second impeachment trial in 2021.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and NRSC Chair Tim Scott both endorsed Cassidy in a joint statement last August. Thune campaigned alongside Cassidy last week. But the pair of GOP leaders has been quiet in the days since Trump’s endorsement.
Several prominent Louisiana Republicans have also remained silent, including Sen. John Kennedy, Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
There are no signs of any establishment financial support heading Cassidy’s way. After Trump’s endorsement, SLF President Alex Latcham said the group’s mission was “to preserve and expand the Republican Senate majority.”
“Anything that distracts from our efforts to beat Democrats in November is unhelpful,” Latcham added.
The NRSC shares SLF’s focus on the Senate battleground, which doesn’t include Louisiana, per a source familiar with the group’s planning. The NRSC declined to comment on future spending plans.
Cassidy’s reaction. Cassidy is touting that he and his allies are sitting on a war chest of over $20 million. We asked Cassidy on Tuesday whether he expected the NRSC to spend in his race and for his reaction to SLF’s hesitation.
“I’ve not spoken to SLF. I’ve spoken to John Thune. John Thune is all in, and I do expect my continued cooperation with NRSC,” Cassidy said during a call with reporters.
But Cassidy shouldn’t be surprised if he sees less public enthusiasm from Senate GOP leaders for his reelection.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso emphasized on Tuesday that Republicans are focused on “building” their majority, a reference to the fact that the Louisiana seat is almost certain to stay in GOP hands regardless of who wins the primary.
While Barrasso stood by his long-standing support for Cassidy, it’s also true that Senate GOP leaders have zero interest in picking a fight with Trump on something like this. There’s very clearly no upside — and a ton of potential downsides. That dynamic makes it a lot harder for Cassidy to continue to rally the troops when it comes to Senate GOP leaders and their various political entities.
Memory lane. We will note that it’s not unheard of for SLF or the NRSC to spend in races in red states. SLF spent to help now-Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) beat former Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) in 2022.
The NRSC also spent money to help then–incumbent Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) in his primary against Roy Moore. However, this was not a safe seat since Moore beat Strange and then lost the election to former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones.
It’s extremely hard to make the case that Letlow would lose the seat to a Democrat. Cassidy will face Letlow in a May 16 primary that could extend into a runoff election.
