Bill Cassidy

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Key Figures

All four of the FDA's major medical product user fee programs expire on September 30, 2027: the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), Medical Device User Fee Act (MDUFA), Generic Drug User Fee Act (GDUFA), and Biosimilar User Fee Act (BsUFA). Together, these fees fund roughly 51% of the FDA's total budget — about half of all new drug reviewers are paid by industry user fees. If Congress fails to reauthorize by the deadline, the FDA cannot collect new user fees, severely curtailing its ability to review new drugs and devices. Every five-year reauthorization is also used as a vehicle to update FDA policy — from accelerated approval pathways to AI regulation and clinical trial requirements. HHS Secretary must submit the negotiated industry agreements to Congress by January 15, 2027; congressional debate will run through fall 2027.

On May 19, 2026, the Senate voted 50-47 to pull S.J. Res. 185 from committee, the first successful procedural move on a resolution aimed at ending unauthorized U.S. hostilities against Iran in the 119th Congress. Bill Cassidy flipped three days after losing his primary, while John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, and Tommy Tuberville missed the vote and handed Tim Kaine's resolution the margin it needed. The vote kept alive a congressional challenge to Trump's war after the War Powers Resolution's 60-day deadline had passed, but the measure still faced a final Senate vote, a hostile House, and a near-certain veto (CBS; NBC; CNBC; CNN; CRS; Lawfare).

The Senate voted 51-46 on May 18, 2026, to confirm 49 Trump executive nominees in a single en bloc vote under S.Res.690, the largest package of the 119th Congress's second session. Nominees included U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Marshals, ambassadors to Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and assistant secretaries at Defense, State, Commerce, and Transportation. The package completed a three-vote sequence over eight days: S.Res.690 adopted May 11 by 46-45, cloture May 14 by 51-46, and confirmation May 18 — all party-line with zero Democratic crossovers.

On May 16, 2026, Louisiana Republican primary voters eliminated Sen. Bill Cassidy from reelection contention after Donald Trump backed challengers who attacked Cassidy for voting to convict Trump after January 6. Julia Letlow and John Fleming advanced to a runoff while Cassidy's loss removed one of the few Senate Republicans who had broken with Trump on impeachment. The result became relevant three days later when Cassidy changed his vote on the Iran war-powers discharge effort after losing his own primary (Louisiana Secretary of State results portal; AP; Axios; Louisiana Illuminator; CBS News).

Louisiana voters cast ballots on May 16, 2026, in the Republican Senate primary between incumbent Bill Cassidy and Trump-backed challengers, while all six U.S. House primary races remained frozen by Gov. Jeff Landry's April 30 executive order. Landry invoked emergency election powers after the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais struck down the state's congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. More than 42,000 absentee ballots already cast for House races were voided.