After months of brutal GOP inflighting, Rep. Julia Letlow (R., La.) is now on a glide path to the Senate — but succeeding Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) was no easy task. Letlow was a last-minute contender for this seat, which she has been running for with President Donald Trump’s support from the get-go. First she and Treasurer John Fleming advanced past Cassidy in the initial primary, and then she lapped Fleming in the runoff.
In her latest interview with the Washington Reporter, Letlow spoke about how she is eager to put the past behind her. “The primary is behind us, and now it’s time for Republicans to come together,” she said. “We all want continued secure borders, lower taxes, safer communities, American energy dominance, and a stronger future for our state, and that’s exactly what I’m going to fight for. I will continue traveling across Louisiana, meeting voters where they are, and earning their trust. Together, we’ll grow our coalition and win in November.”
Letlow is expected to easily trounce Democrat Jamie Davis in November, and she laid out several of her priorities for her next political chapter; they include “fighting to strengthen oversight, hold bad actors accountable, and protect these programs for the people they’re meant to serve.”
With health care, Letlow is eager to build off of the work that Trump is doing to tackle fraud, especially in the 340B space. Letlow and many of her House GOP colleagues have major problems with high-profile scams in the 340B program. In one recent instance, a Haitian scammer bilked millions of dollars from the program. Letlow “fully support[s] the Trump administration’s efforts to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in our healthcare system,” she said. “Taxpayer dollars should go to the Americans who truly need these programs, not to fraudsters or criminal networks exploiting them.”
Letlow has also homed in on the threat China poses to American innovation and safety during her time in office. “America should lead the world in medical innovation, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and biotechnology, not China,” she said. Her position puts her squarely in line with Trump’s stated goal of ensuring that America remains the hotbed of medical innovation. “We need to bring critical supply chains back home, invest in American innovation, and ensure our national security is never dependent on the Chinese Communist Party. I’ll continue working with President Trump and his administration to keep America at the forefront of medical innovation.”
But Letlow has also spent her time in Congress focusing on how China has flooded America’s markets with illicit flavored vapes that are often targeted directly to American teenagers. She noted that those products are “targeting our children, undermining American businesses, and [are] too often entering our country illegally. That’s a public health issue, a border security issue, and a national security issue.”
Letlow outlined that she will “continue leading that fight in the U.S. Senate and work to keep these dangerous products out of our communities.”
Below is a transcript of our interview with Rep. Julia Letlow, lightly edited for clarity.
Washington Reporter:
What do you make of the Trump-Vance work cracking down on Medicaid fraud and 340B fraud being led by Haitian and Somali scammers?
Rep. Julia Letlow:
I fully support the Trump administration’s efforts to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in our healthcare system. Taxpayer dollars should go to the Americans who truly need these programs, not to fraudsters or criminal networks exploiting them.
Washington Reporter:
If elected in November, will this be a priority of yours?
Rep. Julia Letlow.
Yes. In the U.S. Senate, I’ll continue fighting to strengthen oversight, hold bad actors accountable, and protect these programs for the people they’re meant to serve.
Washington Reporter:
President Trump often talks about how future of medicine should be made in America; what would you do to prevent China from winning the race for innovation in the health care space?
Rep. Julia Letlow:
America should lead the world in medical innovation, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and biotechnology, not China. We need to bring critical supply chains back home, invest in American innovation, and ensure our national security is never dependent on the Chinese Communist Party. I’ll continue working with President Trump and his administration to keep America at the forefront of medical innovation.
Washington Reporter:
During your time in Congress, you’ve been a leader in fighting Chinese vapes, including introducing legislation. Is that going to be a priority in the Senate as well?
Rep. Julia Letlow:
I’ve fought to crack down on illegal Chinese-made vapes because they’re targeting our children, undermining American businesses, and too often entering our country illegally. That’s a public health issue, a border security issue, and a national security issue. I’ll continue leading that fight in the U.S. Senate and work to keep these dangerous products out of our communities.
Washington Reporter:
You are coming out of a bitter GOP primary and runoff; what are your plans to unite Republicans ahead of the general election?
Rep. Julia Letlow:
The primary is behind us, and now it’s time for Republicans to come together. We all want continued secure borders, lower taxes, safer communities, American energy dominance, and a stronger future for our state, and that’s exactly what I’m going to fight for. I will continue traveling across Louisiana, meeting voters where they are, and earning their trust. Together, we’ll grow our coalition and win in November.
