Trump Critic on Epstein and Iran War, Massie Ousted by AIPAC-Backed Gallrein

This article was originally published in Common Dreams under Creative Commons 3.0 license. Read the original article. Contact: editor@commondreams.org

By Jon Queally

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, an outspoken libertarian and one of the few Republicans in the current Congress who has shown the courage to stand up to US President Donald Trump on issues ranging from the Epstein files to the disastrous war against Iran, was defeated Tuesday by a Trump-backed challenger in what was broadly characterized as political revenge by the president and his MAGA allies.

Massie fell to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein by 10 points (55%-45%) in Kentucky’s 4th District. Gallrein was not only supported by Trump but also had Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stump for his campaign last week, activities that critics said violated the Hatch Act, which prevents members of the executive branch from participating in electoral politics.

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Gallrein was also the favored candidate of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which showered millions of dollars on his campaign through a variety of political action committees (PACs), making the primary race in Kentucky’s 4th the most expensive in the nation’s history.

In remarks conceding his defeat, Massie took it on the chin, but also threw a swipe at Trump as well as his GOP colleagues, who have proved nearly completely cowed by the president both on the domestic front and when it comes to foreign policy.

“If the legislative branch always votes with the president, we do have a king,” Massie told his supporters Tuesday night, as opposed to the “republic” the nation is designed to have if the Constitution is followed. He also took a jab at Gallrein’s backing from AIPAC, saying as he took the microphone that “I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent to concede, and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv.”

Massie, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), was the leader on two key issues over recent months that challenged Trump’s authority: the first was forcing the release of the sealed files of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the other was pushing to curtail Trump’s war of choice in Iran, which the president launched in February without congressional approval and in violation of international law.

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Responding to Massie’s defeat, Khanna said Tuesday night, “My good friend Thomas Massie lost tonight. He lost because he had the guts to stand up to the Epstein class and against the war.”

Khanna further noted that Massie “risked his career to pass the most popular and consequential bipartisan legislation in modern history,” referring to the resolution forcing the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files.

He added that Massie won young voters in his district—those “who believe the system is unfair”—by 45%. “Tonight, I say to these voters who feel rejected by Trump: We welcome you,” said Khanna. “Join our coalition to take on a rotten system and stand for the working class over the Epstein class.”

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