Why It Matters

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) had one of the most consequential weeks of his Senate tenure, casting the deciding vote to confirm a new attorney general, publicly breaking with the White House over childhood vaccine policy, and sounding alarms about Social Security's financial trajectory — all while reminding Louisiana residents of a federal disaster relief deadline.

Cassidy provided the 50th vote to confirm Todd Blanche as U.S. attorney general in a 50-49 Senate vote, announced his support on the Senate floor on Aug. 7. He, then, turned around days later to sharply criticize a White House executive order directing that combination childhood vaccines be split into separate shots. For Louisianans, the week also brought a practical reminder: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) extended its application deadline to Oct. 1, 2026, for residents in six parishes — Avoyelles, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, St. Tammany, and Terrebonne — affected by Tropical Storm Arthur.

What They're Talking About

Vaccines. On Aug. 10, Cassidy posted a pointed rebuke of a White House executive order directing that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine be broken into three separate shots administered at separate visits. "I'm a doctor. This executive order is wrong. The President does not have the expertise to make these changes," he wrote. "Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism. Breaking up vaccines will mean children have to get more shots to get the same protection, not fewer shots." The next day, he added: "This is why parents are losing faith in this Administration."

Social Security. In posts on Aug. 10 and Aug. 12, Cassidy pressed Congress to act on Social Security solvency, warning that actuaries project the fund will be insolvent in six years. "Congress has a job to do. Right now, we're not doing it," he wrote. On Aug. 12 he added: "These are Americans who have worked hard, paid into the system, and earned their benefits. They deserve better than uncertainty." Cassidy and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) have introduced a bipartisan proposal to create a board tasked with developing a plan to keep the program solvent for another 50 years.

In the News

Cassidy's Blanche vote generated more than 100 news reports from outlets spanning the BBC to WBRZ in Baton Rouge. Politico described him as "the last holdout" before the confirmation. On CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Aug. 9, Cassidy defended the vote as "not a black or white decision," saying there were "a lot of positive things to say" about Blanche. Critics were less charitable. Raw Story highlighted one Bluesky user calling him "weak, cowardly, unprincipled," and Mother Jones framed it as a pattern. His vaccine criticism drew its own wave of coverage, with several outlets noting the tension between his rebuke of the order and his earlier vote to confirm the Health and Human Services Secretary whose views shaped it.

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