WASHINGTON \u2014 Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Monday defended his vote to convict President Donald Trump on impeachment charges five years ago, saying he would rather be remembered for standing up for his principles even if it ended his career in the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat may have cost me my seat, but who cares? I had the privilege of voting to uphold the Constitution. Isn\u2019t that a great thing?\u201d Cassidy said to reporters on Capitol Hill two days after he lost his re-election bid in a GOP primary. \u201cWhen I die, if that\u2019s put in my obituary, \u2018he voted to uphold the Constitution\u2019 \u2014 I\u2019ll figure that that\u2019s going to be a better obituary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite having a voting record in the Senate that was closely aligned with Trump\u2019s agenda, Cassidy lost his primary Saturday in large part because of his support for convicting Trump on charges of inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almost all of the Republicans who voted at one point to impeach or convict Trump are no longer in Congress. Trump has sought to vanquish his perceived foes following those votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, Cassidy said he \u201ccertainly\u201d thinks there\u2019s room for dissent in the GOP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI disagree with the administration. They\u2019ve had some bad policies regarding vaccinations. It\u2019s been pretty clear I disagree with them,\u201d said Cassidy, a physician who has clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his vaccine policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cassidy insisted he won\u2019t disagree with the Trump administration just for the sake of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re asking me am I going to deliberately push back on things, no. I\u2019m doing what\u2019s good for my country and my state,\u201d Cassidy said when he was asked whether he would be \u201cunbound\u201d on Capitol Hill following his loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, he spoke out against the administration\u2019s latest high-profile decision: to create a nearly $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund that the Justice Department said would provide a mechanism \u201cto hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.\u201d That could mean money for pardoned Jan. 6 rioters using taxpayer funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are a nation of laws; you can\u2019t just make up things,\u201d Cassidy said of the fund. \u201cIt is as if somebody sued themselves and agreed upon a settlement with themselves that\u2019s going to be funded by the rest of us. Now if that\u2019s the case, what? Wait a second! I just came off the campaign trail. People are concerned about making their own ends meet, not about putting the slush fund together without a legal precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also put himself in the camp of congressional Republicans who are uncomfortable with using $1 billion to help build Trump\u2019s White House ballroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just came off the campaign trail, as you very much know. You heard about people cannot afford their groceries or gasoline,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to see a billion dollars spent on a ballroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n