Bill Cassidy Caves On War Powers After Trump Officials Drag Him To Situation Room
'I'm trying to get answers for the American people.'
Senate RINOS Too Busy Scolding Trump To Pass Voter ID Bill
Four Republicans -- guess who? -- joined Democrats Tuesday in passing a resolution telling Trump to pull U.S. troops out of Iran War.Trump signs Iran deal, blasts 'fools' after meltdowns by Sens. Cruz and Cassidy
President Donald Trump was originally scheduled to sign a hard copy of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding in Switzerland on Friday, but evidently sealing the deal and reopening the Strait of Hormuz couldn't wait.
Flanked by French President Emmanuel Macron and French first lady Brigitte Macron and with Secretary of State Marco Rubio looming behind him, Trump signed the deal at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night, stating, "This was not easy, I can tell you."
'Reagan is rolling over in his grave.'
Pakistani President Shehbaz Sharif, a key mediator during the peace talks, subsequently noted that the agreement is now in effect, meaning — as a first step — Iran will "instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade."
The White House hailed the agreement as a great achievement.
"Following the historic destruction of Iran's military capabilities through the successful Operation Epic Fury, President Trump and his negotiating team have brokered an excellent, performance-based MOU that advances the interests of the United States by ending the fighting, reopening the Strait of Hormuz to significantly lower energy prices, and forcing Iran to commit to abandon its nuclear ambitions," stated White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales.
Following the signing, gasoline prices dropped and U.S. Treasury and stock futures rebounded.
Democrats in Congress, Iran hawks, and several Israeli officials have complained incessantly in recent days about the agreement. On Wednesday, however, Republican lawmakers were among the loudest critics of the textual prelude to a final peace agreement.
After sharing critiques by others troubled by the peace deal, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told The Hill, "History teaches that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea. I think the president is receiving some very poor advice on this deal."
Cruz seems to have been referring to the sixth of the agreement's 14 points, which states, "The United States of America undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Cruz recycled these remarks in an interview with the Daily Wire, where he emphasized his support for Trump's decision "to initiate military action against Iran."
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican who finished a distant third in the Louisiana GOP Senate primary last month, similarly chimed in on Wednesday, writing, "Reagan is rolling over in his grave."
"Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future," continued Cassidy. "Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal."
"This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades," added the departing senator.
Failed presidential candidate Nikki Haley and Sen. Thom Tillis — the retiring North Carolina Republican whom Trump called a "loser" and an "angry man" earlier this month — also aired their concerns.
Tillis suggested that the U.S. was "equivocating" on some of the goals set earlier in the conflict; emphasized the need for "accountability for Iran"; insinuated that the agreement is the result of the administration "getting a bit skittish over the economic consequences of going to war to begin with"; and said he prefers a deal that won't just last through the remainder of Trump's terms but for multiple generations.
"Hitting Iran’s nuclear and missile sites was the right move," wrote Haley.
"Now, we plan to unlock billions of dollars and lift sanctions, with the promise of even more money. They will use that money the way they always do — to further their nuclear ambitions and on terrorist proxies against us. It’s a huge mistake to pay to rebuild the threat we just destroyed."
Not all champions of the war, however, condemned the deal.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote, "It is my opinion that signing the MOU will be beneficial to the United States, in as much as the Strait of Hormuz will begin to open, and the hostilities with Iran will stop."
While casting doubt on whether a final deal could be reached, Graham emphasized that signing the agreement constituted an "essential step" to creating economic stability for the U.S., the region, and the world, a step he regards as a prerequisite for "the expansion of the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel."
Trump evidently caught wind of all the pearl-clutching and weighed in on Thursday morning, stating on Truth Social, "These fools, who think I haven't been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are 'tumbling' down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
According to AAA's tracker, the national average gas price fell to $3.99 per gallon on Thursday — the lowest it has been in over two and a half months.
Brent crude futures are down to just over $78.28 per barrel — down from highs north of $110 in recent wartime months.
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Nancy Mace crashes and burns in South Carolina governor primary
Another congressional Republican who seems to have fallen out of favor with President Trump has suffered humiliating defeat in a primary.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) now joins the likes of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in losing a primary battle in resounding fashion after failing to earn an endorsement from Trump. On Tuesday night, Mace finished a distant fifth place in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.
'This isn't the end of the fight. It's just the end of this chapter.'
Before 9 p.m. ET, she had conceded defeat, posting a lengthy concession message on X. "Serving South Carolina has been the greatest honor of my life. Every vote I cast, every hearing I called, every fight I picked — it was always for you," she began.
"Apparently, I chose wrong if the goal was winning an election. I'm at peace with that. Because when a candidate is OK with corruption and cover-ups — something is broken. That's not a political opinion. That's a moral emergency," she continued.
"This isn't the end of the fight. It's just the end of this chapter," she assured her supporters.
Before 7:30 the next morning, Mace appeared to be in light spirits once again, joking on X: "Enjoying my first cup of coffee since getting my ass kicked last night."
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Always outspoken, Mace likely lost all hope of a Trump endorsement this year after she pushed for ever more Epstein disclosures, even as she thanked Trump for supporting the "survivors."
Mace's alliance with Trump has been precarious for years. In the 2022 Republican primary for Mace's congressional seat, Trump endorsed a challenger and shifted his support to Mace only after she prevailed. Trump then endorsed Mace's re-election bid in 2024.
Now that she is leaving Congress, Mace says she plans to return "to the private sector ... as the Founders intended," signaling that she may have closed the door on her political aspirations for good.
Trump, meanwhile, can claim victory in her disastrous gubernatorial bid. The candidate he endorsed, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, led the pack, collecting 28.9% of the vote.
Second-place finisher Attorney General Alan Wilson received 26.2%. Evette and Wilson now head for a runoff election scheduled for June 23.
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Trump’s endorsement power keeps saving the wrong Republicans
For a decade, not one lukewarm Republican incumbent senator or governor has lost a primary and been replaced by a more conservative challenger under Donald Trump’s leadership of the GOP. That changed Tuesday night.
Four-term U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) did not merely lose to state Attorney General Ken Paxton. He got routed by 28 points.
The Paxton endorsement and Cornyn’s defeat should have marked a turning point in Trump’s political strategy. Instead, they look like the high point of the cycle.
The decisive factor was obvious: Trump finally endorsed the challenger instead of the RINO incumbent. Now, imagine what the party might look like if he had done that over the past five election cycles.
The point is not to dwell on missed opportunities. Upcoming primaries in red states will determine whether conservatives retain any real statewide fighters.
Paxton’s victory proves Trump could finish his term by draining the swamp. Sadly, he more often sides with the swamp or stays silent long enough for moneyed interests to crush more principled candidates.
Most insurgent challengers lack Paxton’s name recognition. But if Trump’s endorsement could move Paxton from a close race to a 240-county rout, it could make lesser-known challengers competitive against weak incumbents. In open seats, a grassroots conservative with Trump’s backing would be nearly unbeatable.
Several upcoming races offer conservatives a chance to make red states actually govern like red states. Too often, Trump is absent or on the wrong side.
Start with Iowa.
Gov. Kim Reynolds is retiring, and Democrats have fielded a credible challenger pretending to be a moderate while running against land grabs. Republicans need a non-corporatist nominee who does not carry the baggage of the status quo Republicans in Congress.
Betting markets have RINO Rep. Randy Feenstra as the heavy favorite for the GOP nomination because he has the most money and name identification. Conservatives have fielded multiple candidates, but with only days until the election, Zach Lahn has the most traction and the clearest message against data centers and land grabs.
Thankfully, Trump has not endorsed Feenstra. But if he endorsed Lahn, Lahn could win outright without a runoff.
The Iowa Senate race shows the opposite problem. Former state Sen. Jim Carlin challenged Sen. Joni Ernst after she obstructed Pete Hegseth’s nomination. Trump should have endorsed Carlin. Instead, he encouraged Ernst to run again. Then, when Ernst retired thanks to Carlin’s hard work, Trump endorsed RINO Rep. Ashley Hinson, ensuring no improvement over Ernst.
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Trump made a similar move in Louisiana. Sen. Bill Cassidy was already politically wounded, with conservative challengers in the race. Trump could have helped finish him. Instead, he helped clear the field for Rep. Julia Letlow, a carbon capture supporter backed by major AI money who declined to run when the race looked difficult.
South Dakota presents the next major red-state test.
Sen. Mike Rounds represents everything MAGA claims to hate on social, fiscal, and national security policy. Yet Trump endorsed him last year, clearing the field and guaranteeing no serious opposition. This has become a familiar pattern. A Trump endorsement effectively cancels the primary.
The biggest prize in South Dakota is the governor’s race. After MAGA Inc. promoted Kristi Noem as a conservative champion, many of us warned she was a capricious establishment Republican. Her lieutenant governor, Larry Rhoden, took over the term and now seeks a full one. Rep. Dusty Johnson, former leader of the RINO Main Street Partnership, is also running. So is wealthy businessman Toby Doeden, who claims the MAGA label while pushing data centers.
Speaker Jon Hansen is the only conservative in the race. He led the fight against carbon capture land grabs, helped build a conservative majority in the state House, and fought the abortion amendment, marijuana amendment, and COVID tyranny in South Dakota. Now, he is fighting data centers.
A Trump endorsement would likely win the race for Hansen. Instead, conservatives have to worry that Trump might intervene on the wrong side if the race heads to a runoff.
Anyone who thought Trump’s late endorsement against Cornyn signaled a strategic turning point should look at South Carolina. Trump recently reaffirmed his endorsement of Sen. Lindsey Graham ahead of the June 9 primary against Matt Lynch and several other candidates.
Trump’s endorsements of Graham in 2020 and again now have driven off stronger challengers. That is clearly why, barring a miracle, one of the most obnoxious Republicans in the Senate will probably remain there until he dies.
Even when conservatives cannot defeat incumbent RINOs, they should at least ensure that open seats produce better Republicans. Montana shows how hard the establishment works to prevent that.
Trump and the RINO establishment that runs the Montana GOP helped execute a sleazy scheme around Sen. Steve Daines’ retirement. Daines announced his retirement on the filing deadline while the establishment had U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme lined up to walk into the seat without a primary. The goal was obvious: avoid a competitive race from a member of the Montana Freedom Caucus.
Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Gianforte, another RINO Trump ally, is at war with the state Freedom Caucus and is spending heavily to defeat conservative incumbents in the legislature next Tuesday.
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This pattern keeps repeating. Trump elevates, preserves, and empowers statewide GOP leaders who hate conservatives. Those leaders then turn their guns on freedom caucus members in their own legislatures.
Idaho proved the point last week. Trump’s endorsement of Gov. Brad Little for a third term helped keep him in power. Little then spent hundreds of thousands of dollars helping defeat five conservatives in the legislature.
North Dakota shows the same dynamic. Trump cleared the field for governor two years ago and helped install Rep. Kelly Armstrong, one of the most liberal Republicans in Congress. Armstrong is not up for re-election this year, so he is using his money and clout to target the few conservatives in a legislature with almost no official Democrats but plenty of undocumented ones.
Trump has generally stayed out of state legislative races. But his long shadow of RINO endorsements now creates a greater headwind against conservative candidates than ever before.
And don’t even get me started on Trump’s endorsement of Byron Donalds in Florida to replace the greatest governor of this generation.
The Paxton endorsement and Cornyn’s defeat should have marked a turning point in Trump’s political strategy. Instead, they look like the high point of the cycle.
From here, conservatives have every reason to worry that Trump will return to his old habit: rewarding the swamp, clearing the field for weak Republicans, and leaving the movement’s best fighters to fend for themselves.
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John Cornyn’s defeat was another strong message sent by Republican primary voters: fail the MAGA movement at your own political peril.Senators Fight Harder Against Restitution For DOJ Weaponization Than Against Weaponization Itself
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