Sen. Bill Cassidy Battles to Keep Senate Seat as Literacy Agenda and Trump Endorsement Reshape GOP Primary

Sen. Bill Cassidy became visibly emotional earlier this month at a forum on dyslexia, pausing as he stood alongside parents who, like him, struggled to find educators trained to teach children to read. He told the group, 'It is painful, and some of you have moved two to three times to find a school for your child.'

Cassidy has made literacy a central issue of his Senate tenure. When Republicans won control of the chamber in 2024, he sought the chairmanship of the Senate Education Committee and issued a report highlighting declining U.S. performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. He has pushed for more phonics-based instruction and tasked his staff with drafting a comprehensive literacy bill designed to ensure federal dollars support programs that follow the science of reading.

What Could End His Push

But Cassidy's return to the Senate is uncertain. In the Republican primary on May 16 he faces a three-way contest that could prevent him from finishing his literacy agenda. The challengers include Rep. Julie Letlow, who has President Donald Trump's endorsement; Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming; and conservative activist Mark Spencer. Polling suggests the race could be close.

Sen. Bill Cassidy greeted parents in April 2024 when the National Parents Union held a literacy event on Capitol Hill. (National Parents Union)

Political analysts point to Cassidy's 2021 vote to convict former President Trump in the Jan. 6 impeachment as a turning point. Cassidy defended his vote at the time, saying 'the country is more important than any one person.' In 2024, Louisiana lawmakers changed primary rules to restrict party primaries to registered party members and unaffiliated voters, replacing an open-primary system that previously allowed Cassidy to attract some left-leaning support.

Party Dynamics And Loyalty Questions

To some MAGA-aligned Republicans, Cassidy has not shown sufficient loyalty to Trump. Gov. Jeff Landry, who championed the election rule change, criticized Cassidy for supporting what he called 'liberal Obama judges' and for listening to 'Never Trumpers.' At the same time, Cassidy has aligned with Trump on other priorities, including investigating a Massachusetts policy that allowed a transgender female to compete on a girls' track team and publicly urging state compliance with an executive order he framed as protecting women's sports.

Cassidy stirred controversy within conservative ranks when he voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary despite disagreeing with Kennedy's vaccine-skeptical remarks. Kennedy later testified before the committee, and some of his public-health supporters are backing Letlow.

Republican Rep. Julia Letlow joined former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, of California, to discuss the Parents Bill of Rights, a GOP bill that passed the House in 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Allies, Critics And The Stakes For Education

Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, praised Cassidy for aligning with Education Secretary Linda McMahon's goals on literacy, even if she sees the administration as lacking strategic focus. Rodrigues noted that the two once clashed — Cassidy was among five GOP senators who objected in 2022 to her group's inclusion on a parent council — but they later found common ground on literacy advocacy.

Letlow, first elected to the House in 2020, has staked much of her campaign on parents' rights in education. A 2023 House bill she supported would have increased parental influence over curriculum and library materials, required schools to notify parents about violent incidents, and boosted budget transparency. Letlow also supports Trump’s proposal to close the Department of Education, though conservative outlets highlighted a 2020 university interview in which she called it 'shameful' that a campus lacked more women faculty — a remark she later walked back, saying DEI efforts had been 'hijacked by the radical left.' Fleming casts himself as a 'proven MAGA conservative' who remained loyal to the administration after Jan. 6.

Committee Leadership And The Path Forward

Louisiana's Senate seat is widely viewed as safely Republican, so the GOP primary winner is expected to prevail in November. But if Cassidy loses and Republicans retain control of the Senate, leadership of the Senate Education Committee would likely shift to a moderate such as Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, according to former Senate education staffer David Cleary. Murkowski opposes plans to shutter the Education Department and recently co-sponsored legislation with Cassidy to streamline student access to college funding.

Advocates warn that Cassidy's defeat would set back the current push for a federal literacy bill. 'It's going to be kind of back to the drawing board,' Rodrigues said, noting that momentum on legislation tied to the science of reading could stall without Cassidy's chairmanship and influence.