2026-05-16T05:00:43-04:00 / 福克斯新闻
卡西迪是2021年弹劾审判中投票定罪特朗普的七名共和党参议员之一
作者：保罗·斯坦豪泽、卢克·特雷维桑 福克斯新闻
发布时间：2026年5月16日 美国东部时间上午5:00
路易斯安那州共和党参议员比尔·卡西迪声称自己可以与唐纳德·特朗普总统合作，并就与多元化、公平性和包容性（DEI）相关的举措抨击众议院议员朱莉娅·莱特洛，称其脱离保守派选民。
NEW 您现在可以收听福克斯新闻文章！
blob:https://www.foxnews.com/a6748fad-e535-4c3d-b9be-f85326a0f324
收听本文
7 分钟
路易斯安那州巴吞鲁日——在击败五位反对其推动国会选区重新划分计划的印第安纳州州参议员后，唐纳德·特朗普总统的下一个目标是路易斯安那州共和党参议员比尔·卡西迪。
五年半前在弹劾审判中投票定罪特朗普的卡西迪，在这个稳固的红色南方州周六举行的共和党参议院初选中，正与两位主要挑战者展开激烈角逐，以保住自己的政治生涯，其中一位挑战者获得了总统的支持。
特朗普及其盟友包括路易斯安那州共和党州长杰夫·兰德里，在参议院初选中支持共和党众议员朱莉娅·莱特洛。本次竞选还有前众议员、现任州财政部长约翰·弗莱明。如果没有候选人获得50%以上的初选选票，得票前两名的候选人将在6月27日的决选中争夺提名。
此次初选是特朗普背书在共和党提名竞选以及总统对共和党巨大控制力的最新考验。
六年前轻松连任后，卡西迪是2021年初仅有的七名共和党参议员之一，在众议院弹劾特朗普后投票定罪特朗普，原因是特朗普在其支持者发动的1月6日暴力袭击美国国会大厦事件中扮演了角色，当时暴徒企图推翻前总统乔·拜登2020年大选胜利的国会认证结果。特朗普最终被参议院无罪释放。
但自特朗普第二任期开始以来，卡西迪一直支持总统的议程及其提名人选，包括投票批准卫生和公共服务部长罗伯特·F·肯尼迪 Jr.。
不过肯尼迪及其“让美国再次健康”运动正寻求报复。
原因在于身为医生的卡西迪一直对肯尼迪改革美国卫生政策的努力持怀疑态度，包括肯尼迪削减疫苗推荐接种范围的举措。
肯尼迪的盟友指责参议院卫生、教育、劳工和养老金委员会主席卡西迪，因未将肯尼迪的亲密盟友、“让美国再次健康”运动核心倡导者凯西·米恩斯的外科医生局长提名提交委员会投票，从而帮助扼杀了该提名。
与此同时，特朗普抨击卡西迪是“非常不忠诚的人”。
初选前夕，总统在社交媒体上称赞莱特洛是“备受尊敬的美国优先国会女议员”。
让卡西迪获得连任提名的难度进一步加大的是，路易斯安那州将在参议院竞选中实行单独的政党初选制度，取代了此前所有候选人参与的“丛林初选”制度。这意味着共和党提名的选民基础将更加保守，更支持特朗普。
卡西迪强调自己两届参议员任期内为路易斯安那州争取到的成果，该州是美国最贫困的州之一。他还展示了自己对路易斯安那州大型石油和天然气行业的支持，该行业约占该州劳动力的15%。
“当有人问我是否能与特朗普总统合作时，我会指出他已经签署了四项由我起草或谈判达成的法案，”这位参议员在初选前夕接受福克斯新闻数字频道采访时表示，“顺便说一句，我们仍在合作。”
卡西迪还称赞自己是“办实事的保守党参议员”。
为了避免成为近15年来首位在初选中被罢免的共和党参议员，卡西迪及其支持的超级政治行动委员会已斥资超过2000万美元投放广告，据全国广告追踪公司AdImpact的数据显示，这一总额超过了莱特洛和弗莱明的广告总支出。
其中部分广告攻击了莱特洛在路易斯安那大学门罗分校任职期间曾支持多元化、公平性和包容性（DEI）项目的过往经历。
卡西迪认为，共和党选民“对她在DEI问题上的立场转变感到担忧。她曾全力支持DEI”。
莱特洛在周五接受福克斯新闻数字频道采访时为自己的记录辩护称：“2020年DEI被引入时，我们当时完全不知道那是什么，我很快就亲眼目睹了。当时我在高等教育领域工作，我很快看到左翼彻底劫持了这个概念，将其变成了对我们孩子的马克思主义左翼灌输。所以在过去五年我进入国会后，我一直在与之斗争。”
她指责卡西迪和弗莱明对她的DEI相关批评是“毫无根据的攻击、绝望的攻击”。
莱特洛在2021年赢得国会席位，此前她的丈夫卢克·莱特洛在2020年大选获胜后宣誓就职美国众议院议员仅六天就去世，她随后接替了该席位。
她甚至在正式参选前就获得了特朗普的支持。
“他不仅鼓励我参选，而且获得他完全且彻底的背书，这是我一生的荣幸，”莱特洛说道。
莱特洛抨击卡西迪在参议院的跨党派合作举措，包括他对2021年两党基础设施法案的投票，该法案是时任总统乔·拜登的标志性国内成就。
当被问及她的批评时，卡西迪表示：“民众希望有人能为路易斯安那州办实事。《两党基础设施投资和就业法案》已经为路易斯安那州带来了135亿美元用于道路、桥梁和高速互联网建设，同时创造了大量高薪工作。我的对手反对该法案。”
弗莱明在特朗普第一任期内曾担任白宫副幕僚长，他声称自己是共和党参议院初选中最保守的候选人。
“他们清楚地看到我是‘让美国再次伟大’的支持者，”弗莱明在接受福克斯新闻数字频道采访时谈及路易斯安那州共和党人时说道，“我在他的整个第一届政府中担任过多个职务。我是2016年最早背书他的国会议员之一。”
弗莱明声称莱特洛“不符合特朗普背书的标准。她更像民主党人”。
而弗莱明显然已经对莱特洛构成了威胁，因为支持这位众议员的超级政治行动委员会已经开始投放广告攻击他。
但特朗普的背书在这场提名竞选中分量极重，因为特朗普在2024年大选中以22个百分点的优势赢得了该州。
“这是世界上最有影响力的背书，”莱特洛说道，她补充称路易斯安那州共和党人“非常支持总统”。
路易斯安那州初选举行的一周半前，印第安纳州举行了初选，特朗普支持的挑战者击败了五位在选区重划问题上违抗总统的州参议员。
政界人士密切关注印第安纳州初选，因为这是本月一系列考验特朗普在共和党提名对决中背书影响力的首场重大测试，而总统轻松通过了第一关。
路易斯安那州选民还将对州最高法院、公共服务委员会和州教育委员会的初选进行投票，同时对五项拟议的州宪法修正案进行表决。
但美国众议院席位的初选被兰德里推迟，原因是美国最高法院推翻了该州当前的国会选区地图。
路易斯安那州共和党参议员周四推进了一项计划，在中期选举前取消该州两个多数黑人选区之一。路易斯安那州众议院可能将于下周就该地图进行投票。美国众议院初选已被推迟至11月。
保罗·斯坦豪泽是驻摇摆州新罕布什尔州的政治记者，他全程报道各地竞选活动。
After Indiana purge, Trump sets sights on Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy
2026-05-16T05:00:43-04:00 / Fox News
Cassidy was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump at his 2021 impeachment trial
By Paul Steinhauser , Luke Trevisan Fox News
Published May 16, 2026 5:00am EDT
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., argues he can work alongside President Donald Trump, and takes aim at Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., over DEI-related initiatives, casting her as out of touch with conservative voters.
NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!
blob:https://www.foxnews.com/a6748fad-e535-4c3d-b9be-f85326a0f324
Listen to this article
7 min
BATON ROUGE, La.— After taking out five Indiana state senators who opposed his push for congressional redistricting, President Donald Trump’s next target is Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Cassidy, who five and a half years ago voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial, is fighting for his political life in a competitive race against two major challengers, including one backed by the president, in Saturday’s GOP Senate primary in the solidly red southern state.
Trump and his allies, including Republican Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, are backing GOP Rep. Julia Letlow in the Senate primary. Also in the race is former Rep. John Fleming, who is the state treasurer. If no candidate cracks 50% of the primary vote, the top two finishers will face off for the nomination in a June 27 runoff election.
The primary is the latest test of Trump’s endorsements in GOP nomination races and of the president’s immense grip over the Republican Party.
DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana fist bumps a supporter during a campaign stop at a gun retailer and firing range in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday, May 15, 2026, on the eve of the state’s Senate primary.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
After cruising to re-election six years ago, Cassidy was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted in early 2021 to convict Trump after he was impeached by the House for his role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters who aimed to upend congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump was acquitted by the Senate.
But since the start of Trump’s second term, Cassidy has been supportive of the president’s agenda and his nominees, including voting to approve Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
But Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again movement are out for revenge.
That’s because Cassidy, a doctor, has been a skeptic of Kennedy’s push to reform the nation’s health policies, including Kennedy’s efforts to cut back on vaccine recommendations.
And Kennedy allies blamed Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, for helping sink the surgeon general nomination of Casey Means, a close Kennedy ally and top MAHA advocate, after Cassidy did not bring it to a committee vote.
Meanwhile, Trump has blasted the senator as a “very disloyal person.”
And on the eve of the primary, the president took to social media to praise Letlow as a “Highly Respected America First Congresswoman.”
https://a57.foxnews.com/cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/694940094001/2263b0d9-783c-4bc5-bf97-714527d38b03/ed4e671a-1e30-4169-9f43-619e3ea0fd94/1280×720/match/720/405/image.jpg?ve=1&tl=1
Making Cassidy’s climb to renomination even tougher, Louisiana will now run separate party primaries in the Senate race, which replaces a system where all candidates appeared in one single jungle primary. That guarantees a more conservative and pro-Trump electorate for the GOP nomination.
Cassidy is highlighting his record over two terms in the Senate in delivering for Louisiana, which is one of the nation’s poorest states. And he’s showcased his support for Louisiana’s large oil and gas industry, which accounts for roughly 15% of the state’s workforce.
“When people ask things such as, can you work with President Trump, I point out that he has signed into law four bills that I wrote or negotiated,” the senator said in a primary eve interview with Fox News Digital. “We continue to work together, by the way.”
And Cassidy touted that he’s “a conservative senator who delivers.”
In trying to avert becoming the first elected Republican senator in nearly a decade and a half to be ousted in a primary, Cassidy and an allied super PAC have dished out more than $20 million on ads, according to AdImpact, a national ad tracking firm. That total is more than Letlow and Fleming, combined, have spent.
Some of those ads have knocked Letlow over her past support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs during her tenure at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Cassidy argued that Republican voters are “concerned about her shifting position on DEI. She was all in for DEI.”
LETLOW EXPLAINS HER PAST SUPPORT FOR DIVERSITY PROGRAMS
President Donald Trump stands with Rep. Julia Letlow during the Congressional Ball at the White House Grand Foyer in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 11, 2025.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Defending her record, Letlow explained in a Fox News Digital interview on Friday that “back in 2020 whenever DEI was introduced to us, we had no idea what it was back then, and I quickly witnessed it. I was in higher education at the time. I quickly witnessed the left completely hijack it, turn it into this Marxist leftist indoctrination of our children. And so, when I got to Congress for the last five years, I’ve been fighting against it.
And she charged that the criticism of her from Cassidy and Fleming over DEI is “all baseless attacks, desperate attacks.”
Letlow won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died six days after being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory for the seat she now holds.
She was backed by Trump even before she entered the race.
“Not only did he encourage me to get into this race, but also to have his complete and total endorsement has been, wow, the honor of a lifetime,” Letlow said.
Letlow has taken aim at Cassidy for his bipartisan efforts in the Senate, including his vote for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law that was a signature domestic achievement for then-President Joe Biden.
Asked about her criticism, Cassidy said the “people want someone who can deliver for Louisiana. The Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act has brought $13.5 billion to Louisiana for roads and bridges and high-speed internet, and along the way creating a lot of good paying jobs. My opponent opposed that bill.”
Fleming, who served as a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, has argued that he’s the most conservative candidate in the GOP Senate primary.
‘They see me clearly MAGA,” Fleming told Fox News Digital, as he referred to Louisiana Republicans. “I served in his entire first administration at various capacities. I was one of the first congressmen that endorsed him in 2016.”
https://a57.foxnews.com/cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/694940094001/fa765dcc-6a12-4313-8e22-839c9f5dc79e/8ed8c085-912b-4a41-964c-2aceca38eb73/1280×720/match/720/405/image.jpg?ve=1&tl=1
Fleming claimed that Letlow is “not the prototype for a Trump endorsement. She’s much more like a Democrat.”
And Fleming, apparently, has become a threat to Letlow, as a super PAC supporting the congresswoman started to run ads attacking him.
But Trump’s endorsement in the nomination race weighs heavily in a state he carried by 22 points in his 2024 election victory.
“It’s the most powerful endorsement in the world,” Letlow said, adding that Louisiana Republicans “are huge fans of the president.”
And the Louisiana primary comes a week and a half after Indiana’s primary, where Trump-backed challengers ousted five state senators who had defied the president over his redistricting push.
The political world was closely watching Indiana’s primary because it was the first of a series of major tests this month of Trump’s endorsement power in GOP nomination showdowns, and the president cleared his first hurdle with ease.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Voters in Louisiana will also cast ballots in primary contests for State Supreme Court, Public Service Commission and state school board, along with five proposed state constitutional amendments.
But the primaries for the U.S. House seats were postponed by Landry after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s current congressional district map.
Republican state senators in Louisiana on Thursday advanced a plan to eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black congressional seats ahead of the midterms. Louisiana’s state House will likely vote on the map next week. The U.S. House primaries are being postponed until November.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.
发表回复