Holding the Senate Matters More Than Defeating Bill Cassidy - WSJ Editorial

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But Mr. Trump may find he’s now liberated Mr. Cassidy, who can vote as he pleases this year without fear of further retribution. Watch what happens if Mr. Trump tries to nominate Jeanine Pirro as Attorney General.

Mr. Trump is desperate to hold off the day when he is seen is a lame duck, but what matters more than his sway over the GOP is his overall approval rating. At 40.1% in the RealClearPolitics polling average, that rating puts Republican control of the House and Senate in serious jeopardy. Mr. Trump’s revenge campaign has already made the Senate harder to hold. He drove incumbent Thom Tillis into retirement in North Carolina, and Democrats have a strong candidate who is now the favorite.

Mr. Trump has said Maine Sen. Susan Collins should “never be elected to office again” because of a vote on war powers that had no chance of becoming law and that could hurt GOP turnout for her in a difficult state for Republicans. MAGA threats may also have contributed to Sen. Joni Ernst’s retirement in Iowa, and that seat is now a possible Democrat pickup as the farm economy struggles amid tariffs and inflation.

Then there’s Mr. Trump’s refusal to endorse Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas primary, despite pleas by Majority Leader John Thune and campaign chairman Tim Scott. That opens the door to a possible primary win by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who divides the GOP and could lose to Democrat James Talarico.

Losing all of those seats would take the GOP down to 49 seats, barring other partisan change in other states. If Republicans lose the House, the President’s legislative agenda is effectively over. If they lose the Senate, his ability to nominate conservative judges will be done. He’ll spend two years defending himself against nonstop Democratic investigations into his family businesses, and so much more.

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