Changes

In 2021, Cassidy first voted to declare the second impeachment of President Trump "unconstitutional." Then he switched his vote the following week to "constitutional." He and six other aberrant Republican senators, including [[Mitt Romney]], [[Lisa Murkowski]], [[Susan Collins]], [[Ben Sasse]], [[Richard Burr]], and [[Pat Toomey]], voted "guilty" in the final tabulation to convict Trump of the single charge of "inciting an insurrection," referring to Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021. On the afternoon of the final Senate vote on impeachment, which fell ten votes short of conviction, the Louisiana Republican Party [[censure]]d Cassidy for his failure to follow the wishes of a majority of Louisiana voters and instead voting as he personally wished to do. Cassidy was handily reelected to a second term in the Senate in 2020, and his campaign advertising extolled Trump's successes in the presidency.<ref name=censure>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2021/02/13/trump-acquitted-louisiana-republican-party-censures-senator-bill-cassidy-over-guilty-vote/4477426001/|title=Louisiana GOP censures Sen. Bill Cassidy over his guilty Trump impeachment vote|author=Greg Hilburn|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|date=February 13, 2021|accessdate=February 14, 20221}}</ref>

In 2021, Cassidy first voted to declare the second impeachment of President Trump "unconstitutional." Then he switched his vote the following week to "constitutional." He and six other aberrant Republican senators, including [[Mitt Romney]], [[Lisa Murkowski]], [[Susan Collins]], [[Ben Sasse]], [[Richard Burr]], and [[Pat Toomey]], voted "guilty" in the final tabulation to convict Trump of the single charge of "inciting an insurrection," referring to Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021. On the afternoon of the final Senate vote on impeachment, which fell ten votes short of conviction, the Louisiana Republican Party [[censure]]d Cassidy for his failure to follow the wishes of a majority of Louisiana voters and instead voting as he personally wished to do. Cassidy was handily reelected to a second term in the Senate in 2020, and his campaign advertising extolled Trump's successes in the presidency.<ref name=censure>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2021/02/13/trump-acquitted-louisiana-republican-party-censures-senator-bill-cassidy-over-guilty-vote/4477426001/|title=Louisiana GOP censures Sen. Bill Cassidy over his guilty Trump impeachment vote|author=Greg Hilburn|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|date=February 13, 2021|accessdate=February 14, 20221}}</ref>

The censure carries no legal weight, and a [[recall]] is not permitted for U.S. officials. The state Republican Executive Committee said, "We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the vote today by Sen. Cassidy to convict former President Trump. Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed and President Trump has been acquitted of the impeachment charge filed against him." Party secretary Mike Bayham said that the censure vote "couldn't wait" because "many Republicans believe this was a betrayal and required immediate action.<ref name=censure/>

The censure carries no legal weight, and a [[recall]] is not permitted for U.S. officials. The state Republican Executive Committee said, "We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the vote today by Sen. Cassidy to convict former President Trump. Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed and President Trump has been acquitted of the impeachment charge filed against him." Party secretary Mike Bayham said that the censure vote "couldn't wait" because "many Republicans believe this was a betrayal and required immediate action.<ref name=censure/> On February 10, 2021, conservative [[radio]] commentator [[Moon Griffon]] devoted his whole two-hour program to reflect on the outrage that conservatives feel about Cassidy's treachery. He likened Cassidy to the [[Louisiana Republican Fraud Squad]], a collection of twenty-three Moderate Republicans who joined with all the Democrats and two [[Independent voter|Independents]] to select [[Clay Schnexyader]], the Moderate Republican choice of Democratic Governor [[John Bel Edwards]] as  the state House [[Speaker]].<ref>''[[Moon Griffon|The Moon Griffon Show]].'' February 10, 2021}}</ref>

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