Taiwan’s president defends U.S. arms purchases after Trump sowed doubts following visit to China

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-17 11:42:00 — www.pbs.org

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s president on Sunday stressed that arms purchases from the United States are “the most important deterrent” of regional conflict and instability, after President Donald Trump called into question continued U.S. support of Taiwan following his visit to China. U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and security cooperation between the two sides are not only governed by law but also a catalyst for regional peace and stability, President Lai Ching-te said in a statement. “We thank President Trump for his continued support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait since his first term, including the continuous increase in the scale and amount of arms sales to Taiwan,” he said.

His statement came days after Trump raised doubts over his willingness to continue to sell arms to Taiwan, the island democracy that China claims as its own breakaway province, to be retaken by force if necessary. The U.S., like all countries that have formal ties with China, doesn’t recognize Taiwan as a country but has been the island’s strongest backer and arms supplier. Washington is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and sees all threats to the island as a matter of grave concern. Trump already approved in December a record-breaking $11 billion arms package to Taiwan including missiles, drones, artillery systems and military software.

In an interview aired Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to greenlight a new $14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.” “It’s a very good negotiating chip for us frankly,” he said. His comments raised concerns on the island, which the Taiwanese government has sought to disperse, noting that the U.S. official policy on Taiwan has not changed. “Taiwan will not provoke or escalate conflict, but it will also not relinquish its national sovereignty and dignity, or its democratic and free way of life, under pressure,” Lai said in his statement, calling China “the root cause of undermining regional peace and stability and attempting to change the status quo.”

China has framed Taiwan as “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations” during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent talks with Trump. In one of his strongest statements to date, Xi on Thursday warned Trump of “clashes and even conflicts” if the issue of Taiwan was not handled properly. China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when the Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, which later transitioned from martial law to multiparty democracy.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/taiwans-president-defends-u-s-arms-purchases-after-trumps-visit-to-china

Despite retribution, Cassidy attempted to make amends with Trump after impeachment vote

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-17 15:08:00 — www.pbs.org

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — When Charles Wandfluh voted in Louisiana’s Republican primary over the weekend, he could only conjure the unflattering image of a panicked rodent when talking about Bill Cassidy’s desperate attempt to cling to his U.S. Senate seat despite opposition from President Donald Trump. “He’s just a squirrel running around the tree, chasing nuts to find whatever he can get to benefit him,” said Wandfluh, 57, in a suburb of New Orleans. Cassidy’s scramble was in vain, and his defeat on Saturday demonstrated the near-impossibility of a political future within the Republican Party without Trump’s acquiescence. Despite outspending his rivals, Cassidy finished third in the primary, falling short of even making a runoff. The outcome was the latest and perhaps most spectacular failure by a Republican who tried to cross Trump and get away with it.

Even within a party notorious for its political contortions during the Trump era, Cassidy stood out. As a doctor, he overlooked Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine activism to support his nomination as Trump’s health secretary, only inevitably to clash with Kennedy once he took the job. Cassidy was also unable to repair his relationship with Trump five years after voting to convict him during his impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Although Cassidy tried to assure Republican voters that he remained committed to Trump’s agenda, that did not satisfy their loyalty to the Republican president. “He was trying to portray himself side by side with Trump, like he has worked with Trump on this and that,” Wandfluh complained. “I’m like, ‘You voted to impeach the guy!'”

Trump’s endorsed candidate U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, endorsed by Trump, and state Treasurer John Fleming, a former Trump administration official, will compete for the Republican nomination on June 27. “There is no greater endorsement than the endorsement of President Trump,” said Letlow, who was first in the voting Saturday. “We’ll always be singing that from the mountaintops.” Trump liked what he heard, posting on social media that it was a “great victory speech tonight by Julia!!!” The president stomped on Cassidy’s electoral grave, describing the senator as ungrateful for previous support. “His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!” Trump wrote.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who feuded with Trump in the past but has since become a model of loyalty to the president, had no sympathy for his vanquished colleague. “What’s the headline? Trump’s strong. Those who try to destroy Trump politically, stand in the way of his agenda, are going to lose,” Graham said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “You can disagree with President Trump, but if you try to destroy him, you’re going to lose. Because this is the party of Donald Trump.”

Graham once described Trump as a “kook” who was “unfit for office,” and he appeared to break with Trump after the Jan. 6 riot by saying “enough is enough.” But Graham did not vote to convict Trump during the impeachment trial, unlike Cassidy and six other Republican senators. Four of them — Richard Burr of North Carolina, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania — did not run for another term afterward.

Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, who remains in office and is a vocal Trump skeptic, won reelection in 2022 when Trump was out of office. There also is Maine’s Susan Collins, who has faced Trump’s wrath but not a primary challenge as she runs for a sixth term in November. As a Republican senator from a state won by Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the last presidential election, she remains crucial for her party’s control of Congress. Trump’s grip on his party is noteworthy given his lame-duck status — he is constitutionally prohibited from running for a third term even though he has mused about it — and his low poll numbers. He is presiding over lingering inflation, economic dissatisfaction and an unpopular war with Iran, yet Republicans remain largely in lockstep with him.

As he approaches the back half of his second term, Trump appears to be finalizing a wholesale makeover of the party that he began a decade ago, and his appetite for retribution does not appear to be waning. Earlier this month, he successfully dislodged five Indiana state senators who opposed his redistricting plan. On Tuesday, he is backing a challenger to U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s primary. Massie angered Trump by opposing his signature tax legislation over concerns about the national debt, pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposing his decision to go to war with Iran. Over the weekend, Trump suggested that he could next target U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado because of her support for Massie. “Even though I long ago endorsed Boebert, if the right person came along, it would be my Honor to withdraw that Endorsement, and endorse a good and proper alternative,” Trump said, although the filing deadline for Colorado candidates passed months ago.

After his defeat, Cassidy addressed Trump’s influence without naming him. “Our country is not about one individual. It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about our Constitution,” the senator told supporters in Baton Rouge. “And it is the welfare of my people, and my state, and my country, and our Constitution to which I am loyal.”

But Trump’s role was central for many Republican voters. Mark Schulingkanp, who is 46 and works in the shipping industry, said he voted for Letlow precisely to avoid the conflict that has marked Cassidy’s relationship with Trump. “Getting federal dollars into the state is the most important thing to me, to help people with jobs,” he said. “Clearly having a senator that the president doesn’t like could cause a challenge or impede federal dollars coming to the state for roads, bridges, so many different programs.” Jeanelle Chachere, a 66-year-old nurse, described Cassidy as a “phony” and said she voted for Letlow solely because of Trump’s endorsement. “I’m going by what he says because I like what he does,” she said.

In a sign of how Cassidy had backed himself into a political corner, he also lost support in some quarters for going along with Trump’s demands. Mark Workman, a 75-year-old retired physician, said he voted for Fleming to punish Cassidy for backing Kennedy’s confirmation. “If Cassidy had stood up and blocked RFK, I would definitely have supported him because that would have been a strong, ballsy move,” Workman said. “He had the ability to stop him and he was too weak to do that.” Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writer Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/despite-retribution-cassidy-attempted-to-make-amends-with-trump-after-impeachment-vote

New York governor pleads with unions to resume talks amid North America’s largest commuter rail system shut down

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-17 12:50:00 — www.pbs.org

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pleaded with unions representing workers for the Long Island Rail Road, North America’s largest commuter rail system, to resume bargaining Sunday, saying the workers and hundreds of thousands of commuters stand to lose if a strike drags on. “This is my official invitation. We didn’t want you to leave. You left. You’re welcome to come back. I’ll provide refreshments, whatever you like. Just c’mon back,” Hochul told a news conference as the strike — the first in three decades — entered its second day.

Hochul, appearing with the chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that runs the railroad more commonly known by commuters as the “LIRR,” pleaded with the unions to try to reach a deal before Monday’s morning commute. “We all know that the railroad is the lifeblood of Long Island. Without it, life as we know it is simply not possible. The bottom line is, no one wins in a strike. Everyone is hurt,” she said.

After the news conference, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Transportation Communications Union said in a statement that the union workers “are not asking for special treatment — they are simply fighting to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living in the New York region after years without a raise.” The railroad, which serves New York City and its eastern suburbs, ceased operations and went on strike just after midnight Friday after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job.

The unions and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the public agency that runs the railroad, have been negotiating for months on a new contract, with talks stalled over the question of workers’ salaries and healthcare premiums. President Donald Trump’s administration tried to broker a deal, but the unions were legally allowed to strike starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, has said no new negotiations have been scheduled. “We’re far apart at this point,” Sexton said Saturday. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”

MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said the agency “gave the union everything they said they wanted in terms of pay” and that to him it was apparent the unions always intended to walk out. The walkout, the first for the LIRR since a two-day strike in 1994, promises to cause headaches for sports fans planning to see the Yankees and Mets battle this weekend or to watch the Knicks’ playoff run at Madison Square Garden, which is located directly above the railroad’s Penn Station hub in Manhattan.

The station was devoid of its usual weekend bustle in the afternoon Saturday. Only a few dozen people were seen traversing the main concourse, many dragging rolling luggage from departing or arriving Amtrak trains, which are not affected by the strike. Departure boards normally showing upcoming trains by destination instead listed ghost trains marked “No Passengers.” A few signs affixed to customer service windows explained that the railroad was shut down because of a strike. Access to platforms was blocked off with bicycle-rack style barricades and roll-down gates as MTA police officers stood sentry, directing people to alternative transportation.

If the stoppage continues into the workweek, the roughly 250,000 people who ride the system each weekday will be forced to find other routes to the city from its Long Island suburbs. For many that likely means navigating the region’s notoriously congested roads. Hochul, a Democrat, blamed the Trump administration for cutting mediation short and pushing the negotiations toward a strike. Trump, a Republican, responded on his Truth Social platform, saying he had nothing to do with the strike and “never even heard about it until this morning.”

“No, Kathy, it’s your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen,” Trump said, renewing his endorsement of Long Island politician Bruce Blakeman, who is challenging Hochul’s reelection bid. “If you can’t solve it, let me know, and I’ll show you how to properly get things done.” The MTA has said it plans limited shuttle buses to New York City subway stations. Hochul urged companies and agencies that employ workers from Long Island to let them work from home whenever possible. “It’s impossible to fully replace LIRR service. So effective Monday, I’m asking that regular commuters who can work from home, should. Please do so,” she said.

The MTA has said the unions’ initial demands to raise salaries would have led to fare increases and impacted contract negotiations with other unionized workers. The unions, which represent locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other train workers, have said more substantial raises were warranted to help workers keep up with inflation and rising living costs.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/new-york-governor-pleads-with-unions-to-resume-talks-amid-north-americas-largest-commuter-rail-system-shut-down

Transcript: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Suozzi on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” May 17, 2026

Politics – CBSNews.com — 2026-05-17 11:37:00 — www.cbsnews.com

The following is the transcript of the interview with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Tom Suozzi, Democrat of New York, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on May 17, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation, and the co-chairs of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick joins us from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Democrat Tom Suozzi from Queens, New York. Good morning to you both, gentlemen.

REP. TOM SUOZZI: Good morning.

REP. BRIAN FITZPATRICK: Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to start with you, Congressman Fitzpatrick. You know, CBS estimates that the net impact of all this redistricting is that Republicans are going to get roughly nine seats—get them nine seats closer, I should say, to keeping control of the House. I mean, presumably that’s the outcome the president was looking for here. Why are you concerned that driving towards the majority through these methods is actually a negative for your party?

REP. FITZPATRICK: It’s a terrible thing for our country. Margaret, gerrymandering is one of the most, if not the most, corrosive things to our democracy that I can imagine. Tom and I completely agree with it. Our entire bipartisan Problem Solvers caucus agrees to it. We met this past week to start taking measurable steps to fight back, because you know part of the challenge, Margaret, is you know much like how elections are conducted, these district lines, it’s largely a function of state government and state legislative action. The only jurisdictional hook we have on the federal system is funding, so particularly the Help America Vote Act, the so-called HAVA funding that passed after the Bush v. Gore hanging-chad election. You know, we can tie that money—it’s billions of dollars that get sent to the states to carry out their elections. We can tie that funding to certain reforms, and one of the things that has to happen—only seven states, by the way, do this in America—is have independent citizen commissions, with computer-generated line drawing assisting them, to make sure that we have more balanced districts in this country.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I understand the effort and the intent, but Congressman Suozzi, your party’s leaders also gerrymander—gerrymandering, and your group, as we just heard from Congressman Fitzpatrick, you’re supporting efforts to stop it. But it looks like your members are going to be directly impacted themselves. About 45 members of your caucus may face redistricting. You’ve said it’s going to kill the country. I mean, how does it actually kill the ability to reach across the aisle like you gentlemen are doing?

REP. SUOZZI: What happens is, when you create the safe seats through gerrymandering, is that the only elections that matter are not the general election, but the primary, so everybody panders to their base, the Republicans talk to their base, the Democrats talk to their base, instead of talking to all of their constituents about what they care about, and there’s a lot of pandering that goes on. So you know we’re in this—this battle right now, this race to the bottom, and we’re going to fight fire with fire. The Democrats are going to fight the Republicans, Republicans going to fight the Democrats. It’s bad for America. It’s bad for America to have all the safe seats where no politician is incentivized to listen to people and to reach across the aisle.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So I misspoke. It’s 45 members in your caucus, more than a dozen of them may be directly impacted, but still I take your broader point here that it’s damaging to the ability to work cross aisle. But I want to ask you, Congressman Fitzpatrick, from the Republican perspective, we just saw what happened overnight down in Louisiana, where Senator Bill Cassidy lost in this three-way primary. The President himself, the leader of your party, who wanted this redistricting, has also been directly involved in some of these primary races, picking candidates, he came out hard against Cassidy. He’s also now focusing in on Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who has taken votes in opposition to the president, including for the release of the Epstein files. Is the message here for Republicans that if you dissent from the President, he is going to take you down?

REP. FITZPATRICK: Well, it is one of the many reasons, Margaret, why we need to open primaries up in all 50 states, another cause that Tom and I are behind. Over half the states in this country have closed primaries, meaning that if you are a registered independent, you are excluded from voting in 50% of elections, and let’s just put this into context. You could be a 98-year-old World War Two veteran who stormed the beaches of Normandy, saved civilization, who registers independent in the land of independence, which we’re celebrating 250 years of, and in half of the states of this country, including, unfortunately, our home state here in Pennsylvania, if you register independent, you’re told you’re not welcome to vote in half of elections. That is insane. And not only is it an injustice, Margaret, it has a terrible corrosive effect on the floor of the House. Tom and I see it all the time. We call it the vote no, hope yes crowd. They go to the House floor wanting to support a policy, knowing that policy is the right thing to do. But because they live in a closed primary state, and 18% of Americans, 18% of Americans vote in primaries, they’re going to the House floor thinking about 18% of their electorate instead of 100% of their electorate. So, closed primaries, coupled with gerrymandering, your previous question, are really, really hurting our country. They’re causing gridlock on the House floor.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah. It would seem, though, that you are really swimming against the tide here, both of you gentlemen. I want to ask you, Congressman Suozzi, about your—

REP. SUOZZI: Can I just make one quick?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, sure. I was going to ask you about your race, but go ahead.

REP. SUOZZI: Let me just. Let me just make a quick point. I’m in a district that Donald Trump won by 19,000 votes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

REP. SUOZZI: Brian’s in the—and I’m a Democrat. Brian’s in the district as a Republican that Kamala Harris won. For me to win my race, I have to listen to everybody. I need the large majority of Democrats to vote for me. I need the majority of independents to vote for me. I even need a few Republicans to listen, to vote for me. So, I’ve got to listen to everybody, and that’s what’s good for America, is when their elected officials have to listen to their people. When you do all this gerrymandering and create all these safe seats, the politicians in the safe seats, most of the elected officials in Congress right now only have to win their primary because they’re guaranteed the Republicans are going to win the Republican seat, the Democrats can win the Democratic seat, and then they only listen to their base and they pander to their base. That’s contributing to the division of our country, along with social media, cable news, our foreign adversaries filling our social media feeds with a bunch of dreck.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Not going to push back on you on those points here, sir. But back to the question I was going to ask you in regard to your race. I know that when it comes to people like you have to go out and persuade, you believe that Democrats can really make a case on the affordability argument. We’ve been talking about the polling that CBS has done, showing how worrisome it is for the President’s party, but it also shows neither Democrats nor Republicans own the message. It’s pretty evenly split. 35 percent say Democrats would be better. It’s 31 percent who think Trump and Republicans would be. 34 percent neither or not sure. No one’s really convinced that either the parties have an answer here. So, how do you actually make that an edge?

REP. SUOZZI: Yeah, there’s no question that this is a major problem. Affordability is the number one issue in America. Your polling just shows that, and we see prices are going up like crazy. Why? Because of the tariffs, because of the war, because of the new data centers, and because of all the debt. And we have to propose policies that Democrats and Republicans will work together. You know, the tariff issue, the President supposed to come to Congress, the war powers, the president’s supposed to come to Congress. Let’s work together to actually put solutions in place, so we can get back to a place in America where everybody, whether you’re a left-wing progressive or a right-wing conservative, you believe that in return for working hard, you make enough money so you can afford to buy a house, educate your kids, pay for health insurance, and retire without being scared. We’ve got to get back to those basic fundamental, fundamental messages. Enough with the finger pointing and the culture wars. Let’s focus on the economics of people’s lives, so we can rebuild the middle class and help those folks that are aspiring to the middle class.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But in some ways, that polling Congressman Fitzpatrick says people want something different from what they’re hearing from both of the parties, they’re not hearing new ideas. Go ahead.

REP. FITZPATRICK: Yeah. Over half of the people in this country live paycheck to paycheck. A lot of the things that are being discussed inside the state capitals across America, inside the US Capitol, is not laser focused on that all day, every day. Yes, we have to focus on national security. Yes, we have to focus on foreign policy. We got to do it all.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yep.

REP. FITZPATRICK: But we cannot ignore the fact that half of Americans are stressing over their family budgets, and that’s got to drive the legislative agenda. I believe that it was that reason that President Trump won in 2024. I think that’s why Zoran Mamdami won in 2025 and I think both parties, Margaret, are failing to get that message that we have to focus like a laser on the economy on these family budgets and identify the silos. What’s causing high energy costs? What’s causing high childcare costs? What’s causing high health care costs? Tom and I step forward through a discharge petition and passed the, through the house, the premium tax credit extension. We’re trying to do our part to cross the aisle to work in the center to focus on the issues that people really care about, which is the kitchen table issues.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, to that point, President Trump told my colleague Nancy Cordes that he endorsed a federal gas tax holiday. Believe it still would have to go before Congress. Would both of you gentlemen, vote for that? Suspending it?

REP. SUOZZI: I think you know we have to consider short term fix. It’s going to affect the (CROSSTALK) Yeah, it’s a short term fix. We really got to get to the president’s got to come to Congress to discuss the war and how to, how to move forward to get out of the—out of the war, and to affect the gas prices. That’s the real issue here. The tariffs are what are really affecting people’s prices. Come to Congress, work with Democrats and Republicans. Let’s try and move our country forward.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman—

REP. FITZPATRICK: My answer. Yeah, my answer to that question. So we work with a lot with the labor unions, they’ve expressed some concerns about this federal gas tax holiday, that it might raid the highway transit fund, which they rely on heavily for all the local infrastructure and national infrastructure projects, for that matter. So, I think the devil is in the detail when we say federal gas tax holiday, where is that money coming from? That’s really going to be the driving question. Yes, we want to do everything possible to lower gas prices, but we don’t want to rob Peter to pay Paul, so we have to, we have to look at the details here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Quickly before I let you go. Congressman Fitzpatrick, you’re a big supporter of Ukraine. You did get some additional support for additional assistance when it comes to the House. This is like a vote on authorizing new security aid and imposing new sanctions on Russia, even after the House votes, we’re hearing in the Senate from Leader Thune, he’s got no time to take it up. What do you do next?

REP. FITZPATRICK: We’re going to do everything we can, Margaret, to make sure they find time to take it up, because our—the heroes that are on the front lines of the Ukrainian military in Kharkiv and everywhere, everywhere else along the eastern coast of Ukraine, need our help. They need the morale boost. I’ve been there on the front line several times. I have pledged my unequivocal support for them. We reached 218 signatures, as you know, this week on a massive, massive discharge petition that is far greater than even just Russia sanctions. That’s a big piece of it, but it’s an overall a package to Ukraine. So, my message to our Ukrainian friends: help is on the way.

MARGARET BRENNAN: All right, gentlemen, thank you for speaking to us in this bipartisan setting. Appreciate it. We’ll be right back.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brian-fitzpatrick-tom-suozzi-face-the-nation-transcript-05-17-2026/

Workers racing to turn reflecting pool blue for Trump may be at risk, union warns | Washington DC

US politics | The Guardian — 2026-05-17 05:00:00 — www.theguardian.com

Workers renovating one of Washington DC’s most historically symbolic sites in a project ordered by Donald Trump may be risking their safety as they race to finish on time for the US’s 250th anniversary celebrations, a union monitoring the site has warned. Trade union scrutiny has focused on the reflecting pool on the US capital’s National Mall – scene of Martin Luther King’s 1963 “I have a dream speech” – after it was drained of water and fenced off from the public to allow contractors the chance to upgrade it by 4 July. The pool, a Washington landmark since it was dug in 1922, is currently the site of frenetic repair activity, its usual watery surface occupied instead by vehicle and work equipment. Tourists visiting the area have found their view obscured by black tarpaulin.

Leaks and algae blooms have for decades dogged the 2,000ft pool, which sits between the Lincoln and George Washington memorial monuments, turning its water green and confounding previous expensive government-commissioned repair schemes, including one commissioned by Barack Obama’s administration. Last month, the Trump administration – vowing to solve the problem once and for all – awarded a no-bid contract to waterproof and repaint the pool to a Virginia-based company, Atlantic Industrial Coatings. The president told journalists the company had successfully carried out work on a swimming pool at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia. In a patriotic flourish, he ordered the firm to repaint the pool’s floor “American flag blue”.

Other companies that do similar work have expressed indignation over being denied the chance to compete for the contract, according to Herbert Zaldivar, the business development director of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, who has visited the site as an observer. Now the award is threatening to boomerang amid disclosures that Trump drastically understated the contract’s cost, and reports that officials at the Department of the Interior – which has responsibility for the site – are dissatisfied with the company’s work. The New York Times reported that interior department staff members had complained of bubbles and small holes appearing in one of the layers meant to waterproof the pool. Documents also revealed concerns over varying shades of blue mottling the pool’s flooring, resulting from an uneven application of tinted waterproofing and fears that a 22 May deadline for completion of the work may be missed.

Meanwhile, the contract’s true cost – which Trump initially told journalists would be $1.8m – has been revealed to be $13.1m. Amid the controversy, Trump has distanced himself from the company, contradicting previous statements by denying that he had ever used it, and insisting he was not involved in awarding the contract. An aerial view of the ongoing renovations to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, as workers add a layer of blue paint in Washington DC on Friday. Photograph: Aaron Schwartz/Reuters.

Visiting the site on a blustery day last week, Zaldivar said he had been contacted by union-affiliated companies anxious to know why the usual bidding process had been circumvented. “I’m here to verify if the company is in compliance and following the right guidelines,” the union representative said. “It’s very rare that a job like this, which is a publicly funded contract, doesn’t go to a competitive bid. This didn’t go through the right processes, so we lost the chance for a union-affiliated contractor to be part of the competition.” The federal government has powers to award contracts on a non-competitive basis, but only when there is a risk of competition causing “serious injury” to the government.

Atlantic Industrial Coatings, which is described on its website as a “woman-owned advanced coatings application company”, has never previously been awarded a federal government contract, according to official databases. Zaldivar said he was concerned for the safety of the workers on the project, none of whom had been willing to talk to him. “They are afraid to touch the subject, although I will continue to come and try to have conversations with workers,” he said. “With this project, they are trying to rush on a timescale that is most likely to leave some liability with the contractor. The chemicals are hazardous. My concern is usually the level of risk when it’s rushed. Are workers taking the rightful steps to protect themselves?”

Richard Jones, a company supervisor working on the site, answered “no comment” to a series of questions posed by the Guardian and referred all inquiries to the National Park Service. “That’s who we have a contract with,” he said. A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior – the park service’s parent agency – said: “There is no merit to these accusations. Like every federal agency, we follow all laws and regulations designed to ensure fair treatment and safety in the workplace. “Unlike Barack Obama’s over $35m, 18-month long failed effort to fix the reflecting pool – which failed immediately, President Trump is an expert builder and will get this job done for many generations to come.”

Surveying the cordoned-off scene from near the Lincoln Memorial, Al Havinga, a retired civil servant with the US Environmental Protection Agency on a cycle ride with two friends, voiced fears about air pollution arising from the coating materials being used. “All this stuff is volatile,” he said. “People are breathing in poisonous chemicals. There’s no consideration to the risk to the public in applying this stuff. I would guess they are using volatile organic chemicals. There’s no information on that. It’s opaque.” Tourists visiting from afar voiced a mixture of disappointment and bewilderment at the sight. “It’s hugely disappointing and ruining the historical integrity,” said Michelle Criswell, a federal government worker from Oklahoma City touring the site with her husband, Michael, referring to the site’s importance in the campaign for Black civil rights. Criswell, who is African American, added: “I came here for the history and had been looking forward to seeing this site for a while and that’s what I see – a row of black tarp. I feel that everything that’s being done is being done intentionally.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/17/trump-washington-dc-reflecting-pool

Trump's revenge tour claims its biggest victim yet

Politics — 2026-05-16 23:29:00 — www.politico.com

President Donald Trump keeps knocking out his political enemies in the GOP. On Saturday, Sen. Bill Cassidy was the latest to fall. It’s a massive warning sign for any Republicans who’ve provoked the president’s wrath: Trump’s revenge campaign has already mobilized voters in both Indiana, where he successfully ousted several state GOP senators over redistricting, and Saturday night in Louisiana. Tuesday’s primaries in Georgia and Kentucky, where Rep. Thomas Massie is up for reelection and he’s picked sides in the open Senate race, will be another test. Now, the president is entering those races with the wind at his back.

Cassidy’s distant third-place finish marks the end of his tenure in the Senate, one that was doomed by his vote to convict Trump on impeachment charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection five years ago. That decision ostracized him from Louisiana’s rabidly conservative base and set up two strong primary challengers in Rep. Julia Letlow — the Trump-endorsed candidate — and MAGA-friendly state Treasurer John Fleming. Up until polls closed, Cassidy maintained that his massive war chest, his record in Congress and a high turnout of non-party voters would be enough to save him. In the end, it was not.

“For a man with such a formidable intellect, his political strategy was breathtakingly dense,” said Lionel Rainey, a Louisiana GOP strategist, who is unaffiliated with any of the campaigns. “History will remember Bill Cassidy as the absolute smartest guy in the political morgue.”

Letlow, boosted by Trump’s support, advanced to a runoff with a significant lead over Fleming — evidence that his endorsement is still key for Republican voters and can boost a candidate who begins a race with relatively low name ID and fundraising power. Trump on Saturday night declared online that Cassidy’s “disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!”

As Cassidy took the stage in Baton Rouge to concede and thank his supporters, he appeared to repeatedly needle Trump in his remarks, possibly previewing a potentially adversarial role to the White House he will take on as a lame duck senator. “Insults only bother me if they come from somebody of character and integrity, I find that people of character and integrity don’t spend their time attacking people on the internet,” he said at one point, after taking apparent digs at Trump for refusing to accept his 2020 loss was legitimate and declaring that “leaders should think through the consequences of their actions.”

Cassidy’s suddenly pointed criticism of the president following his loss suggests he could quickly turn into a headache for the White House. He has already blocked a handful of White House appointees, and still chairs the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Without the need to woo the president, he could follow the path of retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and refuse to fall in line on some key votes — an important factor in a fairly narrowly divided Senate.

Throughout the campaign, Cassidy tried to cast Letlow as insufficiently conservative, nicknaming her “Liberal Letlow” and hammering her for her past support of diversity initiatives in higher education. But those attacks did not stick. Trump didn’t dip into his own MAGA Inc. coffers or appear on the campaign trail to elevate Letlow — but she still benefited from some of his allies. The Make America Healthy Again PAC pledged $1 million in support of her candidacy, angered by Cassidy’s skepticism of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becoming the Health and Human Services secretary. Those frustrations grew when the senator blocked Casey Means’ nomination as U.S. Surgeon General, which the White House later pulled.

Cassidy’s attempt at self-preservation was also stymied by the rise of Fleming, a former Freedom Caucus member who claimed he was the most conservative candidate in the race. In the final hours, Fleming got a shoutout from Trump as well, who posted earlier Saturday that Cassidy must be “CLOBBERED” by “two great people!!!”

Letlow’s first-place finish is a boon for Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who aggressively campaigned for her with his endorsement, pressured big donors to get in line behind her and was behind Louisiana closing its primary system — a move that disadvantaged Cassidy, who has historically brought in some Democratic voters. The runoff, scheduled for late June, sets up a new battle for the president’s base: Do they go with the Trump-chosen option in Letlow or the other MAGA candidate in Fleming, who previously worked as White House aide under Trump? Pre-runoff polls showed a close race between the two, though Letlow comfortably led Fleming in the first round. The extended primary is sure to be bruising.

As the polls closed on Saturday evening, Trump had already begun to expand his target map, singling out Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) for campaigning on behalf of Massie, who is facing his own tough reelection fight in Kentucky against Trump-backed primary challenger Ed Gallrein. (Colorado’s filing deadline has already closed, so it’s unlikely that threat can be carried out this election.) “Is anyone interested in running against Weak Minded Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District?” he wrote on Truth Social. “Even though I long ago endorsed Boebert, if the right person came along, it would be my Honor to withdraw that Endorsement, and endorse a good and proper alternative.”

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/17/trump-revenge-cassidy-louisiana-senate-00925408

Letlow, Fleming advance to runoff in Louisiana GOP Senate primary, CBS News projects

Politics – CBSNews.com — 2026-05-16 22:37:00 — www.cbsnews.com

Washington — CBS News projects Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana state Treasurer John Fleming advanced to a runoff in Saturday’s Senate Republican primary, knocking out incumbent GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy. Cassidy, 68, was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict President Trump in his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021. And although he’s emphasized his cooperation with the administration in recent years, the president endorsed Letlow in January, encouraging her to challenge Cassidy for the seat. Mr. Trump took to Truth Social late Saturday night to congratulate Letlow, saying she ran “a fantastic race, beating an Incumbent Senator by Record Setting Numbers.” “Letlow is a fantastic person and, after taking care of some additional business, will make a brilliant Senator for the Great People of Louisiana, a State that I love, helped make prosperous with my Energy Policies and everything else,” Mr. Trump wrote. In a follow-up post, he accused Cassidy of “falsely using his ‘relationship’ with me during his political career, and winning Elections because of it,” adding that Cassidy “voted to impeach me on preposterous charges that were fake then, and now, are criminally insane!” Letlow, 45, became the first Republican woman elected to represent Louisiana in Congress in 2021 after winning a special election for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District following the death of her husband, who died in 2020 from complications related to COVID-19 before he could be sworn into office. She’s hammered Cassidy as disloyal to the GOP, claiming Louisiana “shouldn’t have to wonder how our senator will vote when the pressure’s on.”

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/letlow-fleming-advance-to-runoff-louisiana-gop-senate-primary-cbs-news-projects/

Trump blasts ‘disloyal’ Sen. Cassidy while pushing challenger in Louisiana Republican primary

ABC News: Politics — 2026-05-16 18:01:00 — abcnews.com

NEW ORLEANS — U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is fighting for his political life in Louisiana’s Republican primary on Saturday as he faces a challenge backed by President Donald Trump, the latest attempt by the president to purge the party of politicians he views as disloyal. Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow over Cassidy, in an unusual attempt to dislodge an incumbent senator. Cassidy voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, stemming from the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Cassidy, a doctor, has also clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy, even though he provided crucial support to help Kennedy get confirmed.

The president unloaded on Cassidy on Saturday morning, calling him “a disloyal disaster” and “a terrible guy” on social media. Trump criticized the senator’s impeachment vote and said “he’s going to get CLOBBERED,” adding that Letlow is “a winner who will NEVER let you down.” A third candidate is state Treasurer John Fleming. If no one gets at least 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held June 27. The winner will almost certainly take the November general election because of the state’s Republican leanings.

The election was scrambled by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision gutting a part of the Voting Rights Act that affects how congressional maps are drawn. Although the Senate primary is moving forward, Louisiana leaders decided to delay House primaries until a future date to allow them to redo district lines ahead of time, a shift that could cause confusion for voters on Saturday. Cassidy has waged an aggressive campaign to convince voters he should not be counted out. “Four months ago I would have told you it’s impossible for Cassidy to win this,” said Mary-Patricia Wray, who has consulted for Republican and Democratic candidates in Louisiana. “I still think it’s statistically unlikely, but no longer impossible.”

Paul Begue, a 41-year-old in New Orleans who works in the agriculture industry, said he planned to vote for Cassidy. He was bothered by a video of Trump saying Letlow was “as loyal as can be.” For Begue, that was “the final nail in the coffin.” “I don’t care about her loyalty to President Trump,” he said, adding, “I like elected officials that seem to make their own decisions.” The senator’s campaign is expected to have spent roughly $9.6 million on advertising through May 16, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. And Louisiana Freedom Fund, a super PAC supporting him, is on track to spend $12.3 million.

By comparison Letlow’s campaign, which launched Jan. 20, has spent roughly $3.9 million, while a super PAC backing her, the Accountability Project, has spent about $6 million since then. Fleming’s campaign has spent about $1.5 million. Cassidy and Louisiana Freedom Fund ran ads attacking Letlow within days of her entering the race for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has tried to root out of the federal government. Letlow, a college administrator before her election to the House, said she supported DEI while interviewing for the position of president of University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2020.

The ads, an attempt to characterize Letlow as a progressive trying to pass as a conservative, are one way Cassidy is trying to flip the script in a race where he’s on the outs with Trump. The senator’s vote in favor of convicting Trump after his 2021 impeachment over the Jan. 6 Capitol siege has shadowed Cassidy throughout his second Senate term. John Martin, a 68-year-old retired engineer in south Louisiana, said he would vote for Letlow because he was still upset by Cassidy’s decision. He waved a flyer from Letlow’s campaign showing her standing alongside the president. “I know a lot more about Cassidy than I do about her,” Martin said. “But if she’s endorsed by Trump, I’m going to believe that.”

Cassidy steered clear of Trump’s ire last year, supporting Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services despite his public reservations about the nominee’s anti-vaccine views. Mark Workman, a 75-year-old retired infectious disease physician in the New Orleans suburbs, said he backs Fleming. Had Cassidy “stood up and blocked RFK,” Workman said, he would have supported the senator for taking a strong and courageous stance. “He had the ability to stop him,” Workman said, “and he was too weak to do that.” As chair of the Senate health committee, Cassidy has been more publicly critical of Kennedy, including over funding cuts for vaccine development.

Trump blamed Cassidy for the failed nomination of his second choice for surgeon general, Casey Means, who raised doubts about vaccinating newborns for hepatitis B, a practice Cassidy supports. Trump withdrew the Means nomination and blasted Cassidy. “Hopefully all of the Great Republican People of Louisiana, which I won, BIG, three times, will be voting Bill Cassidy OUT OF OFFICE in the upcoming Republican Primary!” Trump posted on social media. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s decision to postpone the congressional primaries may weigh against Cassidy. It could dampen turnout among voters who are less fervently pro-Trump, Wray said, especially if there is confusion about the schedule. “Suspending the congressional primaries hurts Cassidy,” she said. “Some people believe the Senate primary is canceled.”

Cassidy complained Friday that the new primary system enacted last year was confusing voters by requiring them to ask for a partisan ballot instead of the previous all-party primary that had been in place. He said some called his office to say they had been unable to vote for him. “The process that was set up was destined to be confusing,” Cassidy told reporters. Letlow considered running last year but only entered the race after Trump announced his endorsement in January. By that time Fleming, a former House member and Trump administration official who was elected state treasurer in 2023, was already in the race as a Trump devotee. But Landry was looking for a better-known challenger, and he suggested Letlow to the president.

Letlow had an unconventional and tragic entry into politics. In 2020, while she was a college administrator, her husband Luke was elected to the U.S. House but died of COVID-19 before he could be sworn in. Letlow ran for and won the seat in a March 2021 special election and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.

Source: https://abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-blasts-disloyal-sen-cassidy-pushing-challenger-louisiana-133025227

Trump returns to the U.S. from China with pressure over rising inflation

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-16 14:41:00 — www.pbs.org

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump returned from the spectacle of a Chinese state visit to a less than welcoming U.S. economy — with the military band and garden tour in Beijing giving way to pressure over how to fix America’s escalating inflation rate. Consumer inflation in the United States increased to 3.8% annually in April, higher than what he inherited as the Iran war and the Republican president’s own tariffs have pushed up prices. Inflation is now outpacing wage gains and effectively making workers poorer. The Cleveland Federal Reserve estimates that annual inflation could reach 4.2% in May as the war has kept oil and gasoline prices high.

Trump’s time with Chinese leader Xi Jinping appears unlikely to help the U.S. economy much, despite Trump’s claims of coming trade deals. The trip occurred as many people are voting in primaries leading into the November general election while having to absorb the rising costs of gasoline, groceries, utility bills, jewelry, women’s clothing, airplane tickets and delivery services. Democrats see the moment as a political opportunity. “He’s returning to a dumpster fire,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal think tank focused on economic issues. “The president will not have the faith and confidence of the American people — the economy is their top issue and the president is saying, ‘You’re on your own.'”

The president’s trip to Beijing and his recent comments that indicated a tone-deafness to voters’ concerns about rising prices have suggested his focus is not on the American public and have undermined Republicans who had intended to campaign on last year’s tax cuts as helping families. Trump described the trip as a victory, saying on social media that Xi “congratulated me on so many tremendous successes,” as the U.S. president has praised their relationship. Trump told reporters that Boeing would be selling 200 aircraft — and maybe even 750 “if they do a good job” — to the Chinese. He said American farmers would be “very happy” because China would be “buying billions of dollars of soybeans.”

“We had an amazing time,” Trump said as he flew home on Air Force One, and told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview that gasoline prices were just some “short-term pain” and would “drop like a rock” once the war ends. Inflationary pain is not a factor in how Trump handles Iran. Trump departed from the White House for China by saying the negotiations over the Iran war depended on stopping Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. That remark prompted blowback because it suggested to some that Trump cared more about challenging Iran than fighting inflation at home. Trump defended his words, telling Fox News: “That’s a perfect statement. I’d make it again.”

The White House has since stressed that Trump is focused on inflation. Asked later about the president’s words, Vice President JD Vance said there had been a “misrepresentation” of the remarks. White House spokesman Kush Desai said the “administration remains laser-focused on delivering growth and affordability on the homefront” while indicating actions would be taken on grocery prices. But as Trump appeared alongside Xi, new reports back home showed inflation rising for businesses and interest rates climbing on U.S. government debt. His comments that Boeing would sell 200 jets to China caused the company’s stock price to fall because investors had expected a larger number. There was little concrete information offered about any trade agreements reached during the summit, including Chinese purchases of U.S. exports such as liquefied natural gas and beef.

“Foreign policy wins can matter politically, but only if voters feel stability and affordability in their daily lives,” said Brittany Martinez, a former Republican congressional aide who is the executive director of Principles First, a center-right advocacy group focused on democracy issues. “Midterms are almost always a referendum on cost of living and public frustration, and Republicans are not immune from the same inflation and affordability pressures that hurt Democrats in recent cycles,” she added. Democrats see Trump as vulnerable. Democratic lawmakers are seizing on Trump’s comments before his trip as proof of his indifference to lowering costs. There is potential staying power of his remarks as Americans head into Memorial Day weekend facing rising prices for the hamburgers and hot dogs to be grilled. “What Americans do not see is any sympathy, any support, or any plan from Trump and congressional Republicans to lower costs – in fact, they see the opposite,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Thursday.

Vance faulted the Biden administration for the inflation problem even though the inflation rate is now higher than it was when Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 with a specific mandate to fix it. “The inflation number last month was not great,” Vance said Wednesday, but he then stressed, “We’re not seeing anything like what we saw under the Biden administration.” Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 under Biden, a Democrat. By the time Trump took the oath of office, it was a far more modest 3%. Trump’s inflation challenge could get harder. The data tells a different story as higher inflation is spreading into the cost of servicing the national debt. Over the past week, the interest rate charged on 10-year U.S. government debt jumped from 4.36% to 4.6%, an increase that implies higher costs for auto loans and mortgages.

“My fear is that the layers of supply shocks that are affecting the U.S. economy will only further feed into inflationary pressures,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon. Daco noted that last year’s tariff increases were now translating into higher clothing prices. With the Supreme Court ruling against Trump’s ability to impose tariffs by declaring an economic emergency, his administration is preparing a new set of import taxes for this summer. Daco stressed that there have been a series of supply shocks. First, tariffs cut into the supply of imports. In addition, Trump’s immigration crackdown cut into the supply of foreign-born workers. Now, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off the vital waterway used to ship 20% of global oil supplies. “We’re seeing an erosion of growth,” Daco said.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/trump-returns-to-the-u-s-from-china-with-pressure-over-rising-inflation

Trump disparages incumbent Sen. Cassidy and tries to propel his challenger in Louisiana GOP primary

PBS NewsHour – Politics — 2026-05-16 09:23:00 — www.pbs.org

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is fighting for his political life in Louisiana’s Republican primary on Saturday as he faces a challenge backed by President Donald Trump, the latest attempt by the president to purge the party of politicians he views as disloyal. Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow over Cassidy, in an unusual attempt to dislodge an incumbent senator. Cassidy voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, stemming from the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Cassidy, a doctor, has also clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy, even though he provided crucial support to help Kennedy get confirmed.

The president unloaded on Cassidy on Saturday morning, calling him “a disloyal disaster” and “a terrible guy” on social media. Trump criticized the senator’s impeachment vote and said “he’s going to get CLOBBERED,” adding that Letlow is “a winner who will NEVER let you down.” A third candidate is state Treasurer John Fleming. If no one gets at least 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held June 27. The winner will almost certainly take the November general election because of the state’s Republican leanings.

The election was scrambled by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision gutting a part of the Voting Rights Act that affects how congressional maps are drawn. Although the Senate primary is moving forward, Louisiana leaders decided to delay House primaries until a future date to allow them to redo district lines ahead of time, a shift that could cause confusion for voters on Saturday.

Cassidy has waged an aggressive campaign to convince voters he should not be counted out. “Four months ago I would have told you it’s impossible for Cassidy to win this,” said Mary-Patricia Wray, who has consulted for Republican and Democratic candidates in Louisiana. “I still think it’s statistically unlikely, but no longer impossible.” Paul Begue, a 41-year-old in New Orleans who works in the agriculture industry, said he planned to vote for Cassidy. He was bothered by a video of Trump saying Letlow was “as loyal as can be.” For Begue, that was “the final nail in the coffin.” “I don’t care about her loyalty to President Trump,” he said, adding, “I like elected officials that seem to make their own decisions.”

The senator’s campaign is expected to have spent roughly $9.6 million on advertising through May 16, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. And Louisiana Freedom Fund, a super PAC supporting him, is on track to spend $12.3 million. By comparison Letlow’s campaign, which launched Jan. 20, has spent roughly $3.9 million, while a super PAC backing her, the Accountability Project, has spent about $6 million since then. Fleming’s campaign has spent about $1.5 million.

Cassidy and Louisiana Freedom Fund ran ads attacking Letlow within days of her entering the race for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has tried to root out of the federal government. Letlow, a college administrator before her election to the House, said she supported DEI while interviewing for the position of president of University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2020. The ads, an attempt to characterize Letlow as a progressive trying to pass as a conservative, are one way Cassidy is trying to flip the script in a race where he’s on the outs with Trump.

The senator’s vote in favor of convicting Trump after his 2021 impeachment over the Jan. 6 Capitol siege has shadowed Cassidy throughout his second Senate term. John Martin, a 68-year-old retired engineer in south Louisiana, said he would vote for Letlow because he was still upset by Cassidy’s decision. He waved a flyer from Letlow’s campaign showing her standing alongside the president. “I know a lot more about Cassidy than I do about her,” Martin said. “But if she’s endorsed by Trump, I’m going to believe that.”

Cassidy steered clear of Trump’s ire last year, supporting Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services despite his public reservations about the nominee’s anti-vaccine views. Mark Workman, a 75-year-old retired infectious disease physician in the New Orleans suburbs, said he backs Fleming. Had Cassidy “stood up and blocked RFK,” Workman said, he would have supported the senator for taking a strong and courageous stance. “He had the ability to stop him,” Workman said, “and he was too weak to do that.”

As chair of the Senate health committee, Cassidy has been more publicly critical of Kennedy, including over funding cuts for vaccine development. Trump blamed Cassidy for the failed nomination of his second choice for surgeon general, Casey Means, who raised doubts about vaccinating newborns for hepatitis B, a practice Cassidy supports. Trump withdrew the Means nomination and blasted Cassidy. “Hopefully all of the Great Republican People of Louisiana, which I won, BIG, three times, will be voting Bill Cassidy OUT OF OFFICE in the upcoming Republican Primary!” Trump posted on social media.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s decision to postpone the congressional primaries may weigh against Cassidy. It could dampen turnout among voters who are less fervently pro-Trump, Wray said, especially if there is confusion about the schedule. “Suspending the congressional primaries hurts Cassidy,” she said. “Some people believe the Senate primary is canceled.” Cassidy complained Friday that the new primary system enacted last year was confusing voters by requiring them to ask for a partisan ballot instead of the previous all-party primary that had been in place. He said some called his office to say they had been unable to vote for him. “The process that was set up was destined to be confusing,” Cassidy told reporters.

Letlow considered running last year but only entered the race after Trump announced his endorsement in January. By that time Fleming, a former House member and Trump administration official who was elected state treasurer in 2023, was already in the race as a Trump devotee. But Landry was looking for a better-known challenger, and he suggested Letlow to the president. Letlow had an unconventional and tragic entry into politics. In 2020, while she was a college administrator, her husband Luke was elected to the U.S. House but died of COVID-19 before he could be sworn in. Letlow ran for and won the seat in a March 2021 special election and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-disparages-incumbent-sen-cassidy-and-tries-to-propel-his-challenger-in-louisiana-gop-primary