Senator Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican, currently serves as the ranking member of the HELP committee.
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Dr. Bill Cassidy will officially lead the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee next year as Republicans take control of the upper chamber following the election, the Louisiana Republican announced Thursday.
The much-anticipated promotion of a current member of the committee was legislative and comes after the top Republican on the panel, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, decided to become chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. Cassidy took the Republican seat on the 2023 caucus.
Higher education has received little attention from incumbent Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent, over the past two years. But Cassidy’s record indicates that college and university legislation may be his top priority.
The senator has questioned the use of federal funds for campus diversity, equity and inclusion programs; they were critical of the college’s response to protests over the Israel-Hamas war; and criticized President Biden’s handling of the new Free Federal Student Aid application and his efforts to forgive student loans.
Most notably, Cassidy is a lead sponsor of the College Transparency Act—legislation that would generate new data on program-level college student outcomes such as graduation rates and loan repayment.
“It is an honor to lead fellow Republicans as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee,” Cassidy said in a statement. “I am excited to work closely with President Trump and my Republican colleagues to implement the Pro-America agenda and deliver real solutions for Louisiana and American families.”
Cassidy was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump of sedition in his second impeachment trial.
Cassidy also outlined a plan to revitalize the National Institutes of Health, which sends hundreds of millions in research funding to colleges and universities.
Having worked as a gastroenterologist before entering the political arena, Cassidy will be the first physician to serve as SIZO chairman since 1933, when the committee was named Education and Labor.
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