President Donald Trump’s “pursuit of retribution” has led to the ousting of several GOP lawmakers he’d perceived as inefficiently loyal, but in doing so, may very well have doomed his future nominees for the remainder of his term, health care reporter Joseph Choi argued Sunday in an analysis published in The Hill.
Earlier this month, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) was defeated in his GOP primary race by his Trump-backed challenger, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA). Cassidy was among the few Republican lawmakers to vote to convict the president for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and would go on to call for Trump to drop out of the 2024 race.
And, while Trump may have succeeded in helping oust Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican still maintains his position as chair of the influential Senate Health Committee, a position with the power to derail any of Trump's health agency nominees.
“The next few months could determine whether [Cassidy’s] legacy is restraining the Trump administration’s more extreme elements or ultimately ushering them in,” Choi wrote.
“In the coming months, Cassidy will play a major role in elevating the next round of federal health leaders, presiding over the nominations of former Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nicole Saphier to be next U.S. surgeon general and whomever the administration picks to replace former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary.”
Cassidy ended up being the deciding vote in confirming Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he was initially skeptical of but convinced to confirm after receiving assurances that the HHS would adhere to vaccine safety guidelines.
Now, with “nothing to lose,” noted Joseph Antos, senior health policy fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute, speaking with The Hill, Cassidy could prove a problem for Trump’s health nominees going forward.