Senate Republican rejects Trump as leader of party

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Saturday rejected former President Trump as the leader of the Republican party and said the GOP could shift away from his influence in the future.

Cassidy told CNN's Pamela Brown that he rejects "the premise that he's the leader of the Republican Party" and the GOP could elect a new leader despite current polls supporting Trump as the next president.

"The Republican Party does not have a president in office right now," Cassidy said. "It does not have anybody who's obviously not my leader.”

Trump has drawn fierce critics in the Republican party after the GOP lost the Senate in the midterm elections and narrowly captured the House, which comes after the party's election losses in both 2020 and 2018.

The former president announced a 2024 presidential bid last month and has since faced criticism for new controversies, including dining with antisemitic rapper Ye and the white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

Trump also drew widespread condemnation this month for calling to terminate parts of the Constitution after Twitter owner Elon Musk released internal documents showing the social platform suppressed a story about Hunter Biden before the 2020 election.

Cassidy voted to convict Trump after the House impeached the former president for a second time after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Cassidy on Saturday echoed other Republicans in calling for the party to "speak about the future" rather than fixating on issues in the past.

"We're led by principles. We're led by kind of concepts," Cassidy said. "A right of center party which thinks that smaller government, that individual responsibility, that free markets is more likely to bring prosperity to a family and prosperity to our country. ... If we are responsible to those principles, then we win."