Sen. Bill Cassidy signaled on Monday that he could become a thorn in the side of President Donald Trump now that he no longer has to deal with the pressures of reelection in his home state of Louisiana.
Cassidy failed to make it into the runoff after a Republican Senate primary over the weekend following withering attacks from Trump, becoming the first elected senator to lose renomination since Richard Lugar in 2012. Cassidy now has roughly eight months remaining in office while holding tremendous power over legislation in the Senate, as well as Trump’s nominees for federal offices, including to key health posts while serving as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
And even though he’s not explicitly threatening to derail Trump’s agenda, the senator is not being shy about reminding everyone about his loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, rather than to just one man.