Senator Bill Cassidy accused President Donald Trump of treating Congress as “merely an appendage” during a Sunday interview with CBS News, a rare public rebuke from a Republican lawmaker who has become emboldened after losing his Senate seat in a primary Trump orchestrated.
In an appearance on Face the Nation, the outgoing Louisiana senator said he was unsure Trump even grasps that Congress “is a separate body, separate from the presidency.” Cassidy stated: “Sometimes he acts as if Congress is merely an appendage, and frankly, sometimes Congress acts like it’s an appendage.”
Cassidy’s comments came days after a heated confrontation with Trump during a closed-door Republican Senate lunch at the Capitol on June 24. The senator said Trump “berated” four Republicans who had voted for an Iran war powers resolution, leading Cassidy to raise his voice to match the president’s intensity. “I raised my volume to match his, and we spoke to each other like that, or shall we say, spoke at each other, not to each other,” Cassidy recounted.
The clash centered on Trump’s handling of the Iran war without adequate congressional briefings. Cassidy emphasized that the Constitution’s separation of powers requires Congress to be informed on military operations. “The founding fathers designed the arrangement so that there would not be too powerful of an institution of a presidency” and so it would “reflect all of the American people, not just the will of one person,” he told CBS News.
The war powers dispute revealed the tension over Trump’s Iran campaign, which has cost $29 billion and claimed 13 American lives, according to Cassidy. On June 23, the Senate had approved a bipartisan war powers resolution 50-48 directing Trump to end military operations against Iran. Cassidy voted with the majority, but after receiving a classified briefing from Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff—which he said addressed his concerns about negotiation sensitivity—he switched his position on a subsequent vote, allowing Senate Republicans to block the resolution later that week.
Cassidy’s willingness to speak bluntly reflects his newly liberated position. In May, Trump endorsed his primary challenger, Representative Julia Letlow, who won the Republican nomination runoff and is now positioned to replace Cassidy in November’s general election. With his Senate career effectively over, Cassidy has abandoned the calculation that constrained other Republicans from directly challenging Trump.
The senator also used the interview to criticize Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying Kennedy’s public health stances were built on a “foundation of lies.” Cassidy, a medical doctor, had delivered the key vote to advance Kennedy’s nomination through the Senate Health Committee but expressed that he has since lost trust in the health secretary.
Cassidy’s stance aligns with a broader pattern of Republican resistance emerging in Congress. Reuters reported in June that Trump faces widening opposition within his own party as lawmakers long reluctant to defy him have begun pushing back on various fronts, from war powers to judicial appointments and Trump administration policies. The Guardian noted that more Republicans are breaking with Trump, though some analysts suggest moves may be aimed at retaining power rather than driven purely by conscience as midterm pressures build.
Sources
- The Guardian — Cassidy’s full comments accusing Trump of treating Congress as “merely an appendage” and his criticism of Trump’s Iran war handling
- Politico — Cassidy’s Face the Nation interview in which he questioned Trump’s understanding of Congress as a separate body
- The Washington Post — Cassidy’s criticism of RFK Jr. and reference to the “appendage” accusation
- NBC News — Senate Republicans’ vote reversals on the Iran war powers resolution following Trump’s pressure
- Reuters — Trump facing widening Republican opposition in Congress
