Republican Leaders in Congress Stand By Their Incumbent Colleagues Despite Trump’s Efforts To Oust Them

Even though President Trump is seeking to oust disloyal Republicans from their seats in Congress, leadership on Capitol Hill is sticking by their colleagues. Mr. Trump, well-known for his ability to hold a grudge, is now backing a primary challenger to the chairman of the Senate’s powerful health committee. For the last year, Mr. Trump has only really gone after Congressman Thomas Massie, the libertarian from Kentucky who has been vocal in opposing some of Mr. Trump’s key policies. Now, he is being more strident in saying that other lawmakers who break with him — or have broken with him in the past — should lose re-election. Earlier this month, the president said that the five Republican senators who voted to restrict his war powers in Venezuela should not be elected again. One of those lawmakers was Senator Susan Collins of Maine — the most vulnerable Senate Republican this year, who is running in a state won by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. “Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, listing the names of the five senators who broke with him. The Senate majority leader, Senator John Thune, seems unbothered by Mr. Trump’s demands for a more loyal legislative branch, however. On Tuesday, the Senate Leadership Fund — an outside spending group led by Mr. Thune’s team — announced that tens of millions of dollars in advertising spending are being reserved on Maine’s airwaves for the embattled Ms. Collins. “The landmark investment will begin early August through Election Day and includes $36.8 million for statewide broadcast, cable, digital, and radio advertising,” the group said in a press release on Tuesday. The nearly $37 million in spending outpaces the $32 million spent in the 2024 Michigan Senate race, which the GOP narrowly lost. The ad spending for Ms. Collins is also more than one-third of the super PAC’s total cash on hand. The group started the year with $100 million in the bank. Mr. Trump also set his sights on the chairman of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Dr. Cassidy has voted with Mr. Trump on every major policy issue and almost single-handedly saved the nomination of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. despite his own reservations about Mr. Kennedy’s anti-vaccine views. Dr. Cassidy could have blocked the nomination if he had wanted to, though he ultimately supported his confirmation.Over the weekend, Mr. Trump endorsed Congresswoman Julia Letlow, who represents a large swath of central and eastern Louisiana in the House, to be the state’s next senator. She announced Monday that she would challenge Dr. Cassidy in the upcoming Republican primary. “[In] a state as conservative as ours, we shouldn’t have to wonder how our senator will vote,” Ms. Lewlow said in her announcement video, promising to stand with Mr. Trump at every opportunity. Despite standing beside Mr. Trump on nearly everything else, Dr. Cassidy committed one unforgivable crime for which Mr. Trump has never forgiven him — he voted to convict Mr. Trump after his second impeachment trial in 2021. “I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty,” Dr. Cassidy said five years ago. Mr. Trump’s endorsement of Ms. Letlow will be helpful, though Dr. Cassidy may be able to remain competitive thanks to support from the leadership team in the Senate and because the crowd of challengers is so large. The number two Senate Republican, Senator John Barrasso, told reporters on Tuesday that he and his team are standing by Dr. Cassidy. “I’ve been supportive of Senator Cassidy from the beginning,” Dr. Barrasso said. “We’re going to do everything we can to build the majority for Republicans.” The Senate Leadership Fund is supporting Dr. Cassidy, though it has not yet reserved advertising spending for the senator. Mr. Thune was campaigning with Dr. Cassidy in Louisiana over the weekend. Mr. Trump had promised to stay neutral in the Louisiana primary, though his sudden shift could spell trouble for another sitting lawmaker facing a right-wing primary challenger — Senator John Cornyn of Texas.Texas’ attorney general, Ken Paxton, is running against Mr. Cornyn in the GOP primary, and Mr. Trump has said he will remain neutral in that primary. The endorsement for Ms. Letlow shows that Mr. Trump’s promises about neutrality don’t carry much weight, however. The Senate Leadership Fund has also endorsed Mr. Cornyn, though any spending on the Texas race has not yet been disclosed.

Republican Leaders in Congress Stand By Their Incumbent Colleagues Despite Trump’s Efforts To Oust Them

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