Trump tightens grip on Republican Party

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump tightened his hold over the Republican Party after Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy suffered a crushing primary defeat following years of political fallout from his vote to convict Trump after the January 6 Capitol attack.

Cassidy failed even to qualify for the Republican runoff in Saturday's Louisiana primary, marking the latest setback for Republicans who broke publicly with Trump during and after his presidency.

The outcome dominated Sunday political talk shows, where Republicans and Democrats alike described the result as another demonstration of Trump's continuing dominance over the Grand Old Party (GOP).

"This is Donald Trump's party," Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss said during a CNN programme.

Cassidy had become one of the most prominent Republican critics of Trump after voting in 2021 to convict him on impeachment charges linked to the Capitol riot.

"Our country is not about one individual," Cassidy said in remarks aired on both CNN and ABC News after his defeat.

"And if someone doesn't understand that and attempts to control others through using the levers of power, they are about serving themselves."

But Trump-backed Republicans celebrated the result as proof that GOP voters remained loyal to the President.

Republican Congressman Buddy Carter said on CNN that Republicans who opposed Trump politically should expect consequences.