Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) blamed his reelection loss to challenger Ed Gallrein on the times he has worked across the aisle with Democrats instead of voting with Republicans, particularly pointing to his advocacy for the release of the Epstein files.
Massie fell to Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL backed by President Donald Trump, by a near 10 percentage point margin on Tuesday evening, marking the end of his career in Congress for now and handing a win to Trump, who grew frustrated with Massie’s hard-line libertarian-conservative stances against some of his administration’s policies. Massie not only championed the Epstein files with Democrats like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), but also voted against key Trump spending initiatives like the One Big Beautiful Bill because of his stance against the growing deficit.
“I think the biggest crime I committed against the swamp, Kristen, was showing the American people that somebody on the right could join somebody on the left and get something done, which is releasing the Epstein files that everybody knew needed to be done. That’s probably the only bill that’s passed Washington, D.C., in the last 10 years that lobbyists haven’t written,” Massie told Kristen Welker on NBC’s Meet the Press.
The primary between Massie and Gallrein became the most expensive primary in House history, as pro-Trump and Gallrein forces spent against the sitting congressman to uproot his tenure in the lower chamber. Khanna also went on the network on Sunday, telling Welker that he reacted with “sadness” and “disappointment” to Massie’s loss.
“Thomas is a real friend, he’s a good man, and he was taken out for two reasons: one, he had the courage to go after some very powerful people in working with me to get the Epstein Transparency Act passed,” Khanna said.
“Second, he worked with me to stop this war in Iran. So, for taking on the Epstein class and taking on war, he basically lost his seat, and I admire his courage in taking those positions,” Khanna continued.
In Kentucky‘s deep-red fourth district, Gallrein is poised to win in the November general election and take the seat after winning the GOP primary. As far as Massie’s political future, he’s fielded some speculation that he could be eyeing a 2028 presidential election run. He told the network that he “won’t rule anything out,” including a future run for local office, but said he’s been getting comfortable on his farm.
“I will not rule out anything and, right now, I’m not going to rule in anything. Look, I’ve spent the last five days on my farm with my grandkids and my cattle and my peach trees, and it’s pretty nice life. I don’t know if I want to screw that up again,” Massie said.
