GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy says Trump won't be the party's 2024 presidential nominee

• GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy said he doesn't believe that Trump will be the party's nominee for president in 2024.
• The party needs a candidate "who lifts all boats, and that's clearly not happened over the last four years," Cassidy said.
• Trump and other GOP members have said the former president will remain relevant to the party.

GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy said on Sunday that he does not believe Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for president in 2024, contrary to strong suggestions from the former president that say otherwise.

Trump's days in office came to an end after President Joe Biden got inaugurated on January 20. But he is still able to run in future elections, and he has shared vague plans to do so.

Before Biden even entered office, for example, Trump said he'd like to host a 2024 campaign event.

Trump this weekend is headlining the Conservative Political Action Conference. One of CPAC's most prominent features this year is a golden statue of Trump himself.

Recently, Republican lawmakers have begun to publicly back Trump for a 2024 bid.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for example, said he'd support Trump in 2024 should he be the nominee. His remarks came just days after the senator accused the Trump of "dereliction of duty" over the Capitol siege on January 6.

Sen. Mitt Romney last week predicted that Trump would win the 2024 GOP nomination "in a landslide."

And Sen. Lindsey Graham revealed plans to leverage the former president's influence to ensure that the Republican party takes back the House and Senate in 2022.

In an interview with Politico, Graham said he'll meet with Trump to discuss the future of the GOP and his role in it.

"I'm going to try and convince him that we can't get there without you, but you can't keep the Trump movement going without the GOP united," Graham said.

"If we come back in 2022, then, it's an affirmation of your policies," he said. "But if we lose again in 2022, the narrative is going to continue that not only you lost the White House, but the Republican Party is in a bad spot."

His actions and the continued support for him from politicians and voters show that Trump, while out of office, still maintains deep influence in GOP politics.

Still, not everyone in the GOP is convinced that Trump still has a grip on Republican politics.

"He'll be 78 years old. I don't think he'll be our nominee," Cassidy said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. "Over the last four years, we've lost the House, the Senate, and the presidency. Political campaigns are about winning. Our agenda does not move forward unless we win."

"We need a candidate that can not only win himself or herself but we also have to have someone who lifts all boats, and that's clearly not happened over the last four years," Cassidy added.

—State of the Union (@CNNSotu) February 28, 2021

Cassidy was among the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial.