Trump in lose-lose situation with Republicans who are 'outa give-a-damns': strategist
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U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) Senate Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
Democrat Chuck Rocha cautioned that President Donald Trump is putting himself in an awkward position with GOP leaders who might lose in primaries yes still hold office through the end of the year.
"Lame ducks" are typically called that because their influence wanes as it comes closer to the end of their time in office. In this case, however, there is still more than six months left for these Republicans to flex their power and cause trouble for Trump with no repercussions.
Sen. Bill Cassidy lost his primary race last week and voters in Kentucky will decide on Tuesday whether or not Rep. Thomas Massie (R) will remain as well. Massie has been a thorn in the side of Trump for the past year as he works to uncover the specifics about the Jeffrey Epstein files.
"Let me say this real quick," Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha said in his thick Texas accent during a CNN panel discussion. "You think about these primaries and you think about — I make light of it. But if Massie was to lose tonight, he's still in Congress till the end of the year. The Louisiana senator who just got beat in his primary, who dared to go against Trump, he's still going to be there till the end of the year."
Trump has been celebrating his victory in Indiana, where his aides worked to remove a slate of Republicans from their state legislative seats after they refused to support his redistricting effort in the state.
"Watch these folks who are all out of give-a-damns who have already lost a race. They're going to be a spur in the side of all these folks in Congress," Rocha added.
The narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate give both Cassidy and Massie enormous power, particularly if they don't have anything to lose.
Cassidy, for example, chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee with Sen. Bernie Sanders, and he has the power to run a scorched-earth strategy. The committee is made up of progressive Democrats and a number of moderate Republicans, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who could lose her seat in November. Cassidy doesn't have much to do for the next six months, so he could begin calling hearings to hold people in Trump's Department of Health and Human Services accountable.