A stinging primary defeat just turned a loyal Republican ally into President Donald Trump’s biggest headache on Capitol Hill.
The Senate narrowly advanced legislation on Tuesday aimed at forcing the president to withdraw U.S. troops from the war in Iran. The 50-47 procedural vote succeeded entirely because Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy decided he was done playing nice with the White House.
Cassidy, who recently lost his primary election after Trump actively endorsed his opponent, crossed the aisle to deliver the decisive vote Democrats needed to move the war powers resolution forward. The move sent a pointed message back to the Oval Office, effectively letting Cassidy hand the president a high-profile legislative defeat on his way out the door.
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Since Trump ordered the military strike on Iran at the end of February, Democrats have repeatedly tried to pass war powers resolutions to force a troop withdrawal or compel the administration to seek formal congressional approval. Until Tuesday, Senate Republicans had successfully whipped enough votes to kill those proposals.
While the resolution still faces a final passage vote—and its ultimate survival remains uncertain due to several Republican absences on Tuesday that could tip the scales later—the tally signals a shifting tide. A growing number of Republicans are openly defying the administration, driven by rising anxiety over a fragile ceasefire and the spike in domestic gas prices triggered by the conflict.
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