Sen. Cassidy Ousted

Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming ousted incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in the Republican primary election in Louisiana on May 16.

Letlow won more than 44.8 percent of the vote, while Fleming received 28.3 percent and Cassidy received 24.8 percent, according to results after 99 percent of the votes were tallied.

“Congratulations to Congresswoman Julia Letlow on a fantastic race, beating an Incumbent Senator by record-setting numbers,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on the night of May 16.

Trump endorsed Letlow in January, before she launched her campaign, in a bid to dislodge Cassidy. He called the incumbent senator disloyal in a social media post on the morning of May 16 for running on a Trump platform and then voting to impeach the president.

Letlow and Fleming will face off in a runoff election on June 27 since neither received more than 50 percent of the vote.

The winner of the runoff will likely go on to represent the state in the U.S. Senate. The Republican-leaning state has not had a senator from the Democratic Party since 2015.

Both candidates have emphasized their alignment with the White House.

During the campaign, Letlow described herself as a “conservative fighter” who would be more loyal to administration priorities than Cassidy had been perceived to be due to a series of high-profile splits with Trump over the past several years.

Likewise, Fleming cited positive comments from Trump—who called Cassidy’s primary opponents “two great people”—in a post on X, writing, “Thanks for the kudos President Trump.”

Fleming has framed his campaign as being the most conservative in the race.

However, Letlow’s endorsement from the president offers a steep advantage, and Letlow is seen as the race’s front-runner.

Several Republicans who have sparred with Trump in the past—including former Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), former Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)—have forgone a reelection bid entirely.

Cassidy, meanwhile, outraised both of his opponents during the election cycle; however, he always faced long odds in a state that Trump won by 22 points in 2024.

Speaking after the election, Cassidy defended his past votes and conflicts with the administration, saying that his primary focus was his obligation to the people of Louisiana.

He told his supporters: “Our country is not about one individual. It is about the welfare of all Americans, and it is about the Constitution.

“It is the welfare of my people and my state and my country and my Constitution to which I am loyal. And if someone doesn’t understand that and attempts to control others through using the levers of power, they’re about serving themselves. They’re not about serving us. And that person is not qualified to be a leader.”

The Louisiana primary was upended by an April 29 U.S. Supreme Court decision that invalidated part of the Voting Rights Act.

Although state leaders decided to postpone the U.S. House primaries until the district lines are redrawn, the U.S. Senate primary proceeded as planned.

—Ivan Pentchoukov, Troy Myers, and Joseph Lord

WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM FUNDING REJECTED

The Senate’s nonpartisan referee this weekend rejected a bid by Republicans to fund $1 billion for the White House ballroom expansion and other White House security upgrades.

According to Senate Democrats, the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, determined that the $1 billion proposal breaks the rules of the reconciliation process. As parliamentarian, MacDonough’s go-ahead is traditionally required to approve individual items passed under the partisan process.

Republicans are seeking to use the reconciliation process—which is not subject to the filibuster—to pass $72 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, which has been blocked by Democrats in the wake of fatal shootings of American citizens by immigration agents. The GOP bill would fund the agencies through 2029, the end of Trump’s second term.

Trump has long pushed for the addition of a major ballroom to the East Wing of the White House, particularly in the wake of an alleged assassination attempt while attending an event away from the executive mansion.

The Secret Service had requested the money after the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last month.

Republicans had pursued including this funding in an immigration enforcement funding package.

According to Democrats, MacDonough’s ruling describes the funding for a project as large as the proposed White House expansion as too broad to be included in the filibuster-proof bill.

It’s unclear which segments, if any, of the GOP proposal can be included in the final funding bill. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) indicated on Saturday night that Republicans are working on revising the bill.

Meanwhile, the parliamentarian left the bulk of the bill’s immigration language intact, barring some minor provisions such as one providing funding for Customs and Border Protection to hire, train, and pay agents. Republicans have indicated that these sections can be revised and retained in the legislation.

—Joseph Lord

BOOKMARKS

In an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, the United States’ special envoy to Greenland, described his plans for his inaugural trip to the Danish territory, scheduled for May 17 through May 20. The Epoch Times’ Nathan Worcester reported on how the Louisiana official expects his trip to play out. 

Thousands of Americans, of all ages and backgrounds, convened on the National Mall on May 17, singing in unison, arms raised together in prayer while in the nation’s capital for a faith-based celebration known as “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving.” Attendees spoke to The Epoch Times’ Travis Gillmore about the event and what it meant to them. 

A scholar who escaped China two decades ago is now issuing a warning to the United States about Beijing’s infiltration in the country. Having walked out of Chinese communist indoctrination, scholar and historian Zhang Tianliang hopes to offer America an antidote, The Epoch Times’ Eva Fu reported.

Once, it was common for the market to reward the best books with sales and popularity. Now, AI is upending that norm, The Epoch Times’ Autumn Spredemann reported.