Politics · GOP Senate race · ArchiveCassidy Becomes Deciding Vote for Attorney General as GOP Can Only Lose 2Aired August 8, 2026 at 8:30 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Senator Bill Cassidy has announced he0:02will support Todd Blanche for Attorney0:04General, a decision CBS News0:06Congressional Correspondent Nicole0:07Killian [music] said makes him the0:09deciding vote. Killian reported the math0:11that makes that support decisive, while0:13Cassidy [music] himself framed his0:14backing with open reservations. Killian0:17said without Senator Mitch [music]0:18McConnell, Republicans can only afford0:20to lose two votes. And Killian said0:22Senator Lindsey Graham died, and his0:24sister [music] has stepped into that0:25role and is serving as a Senator.0:27Factors tightening the margin for0:29confirmation. [music]0:30Cassidy said he is particularly0:32concerned about episodes of apparent0:33lawfare, including the Justice0:35Department bringing suits [music]0:36against political enemies. And Cassidy0:39said Blanche showed poor judgment in0:41approving the anti-weaponization slush0:43fund and exempting the President from0:44IRS audits. For mitigation, Cassidy0:47[music] said he learned some cases0:48publicly reported to be under0:49investigation by the Justice Department0:51have been dismissed or are no longer0:53being pursued. What Cassidy said [music]0:56tipped him was enforcement management.0:57Cassidy said Blanche instructed US0:59Attorneys to focus on violent crime,1:01human and drug trafficking, and fraud1:03[music] in Medicare and Medicaid. And1:04Cassidy said David Courselles spoke of1:06almost $1 billion in fraud being1:09recovered for [music] the US taxpayer1:10from health care fraud.1:17Cassidy said former Attorney General1:19Bill Barr endorsed Blanche saying,1:21[music] "Mr. Blanche will run the1:22department as effectively as anyone can1:24under President Trump."1:25>> [music]1:26>> An endorsement Cassidy presented as1:27evidence Blanche would push back rather1:29than act as a yes man given his prior1:31attorney-client relationship with1:32President Trump.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗