KENTUCKY — President Donald Trump endorsed Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, in a Republican primary challenge against Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. The primary is among Republican contests scheduled for May 2026 in Kentucky, Indiana and Louisiana.

Trump aims to oust multiple Republican lawmakers who have crossed him, issuing endorsements in multiple Republican primary races. His political operation has encouraged some candidates to run and others to drop out, deployed top lieutenants to outside groups participating in the races, and spent millions of dollars on advertising on the airwaves.

Massie said he viewed his reelection as a test of congressional independence. "If I win, it means we have a legislative branch again that can function independently," he said.

Massie described his position as isolated within his party. "If 10 of them would go over the wall with me, the resources would be split 10 ways, and we would, all 10, survive easily," he said.

He pointed to a lack of allies in the House willing to break with the administration. "But because I'm the only one over the wall, all of the ire — and with the exception of, like, the Indiana state Senate and Bill Cassidy, there's nobody in the House that's gone over the wall with me. They're all toeing the line. And that's why they're trying to take me out," Massie said.

Massie also addressed votes that have put him at odds with party leadership. "Well, you've got the right vote here, but, you know, this is not a hill I'm going to die on," he said. Sam Markstein, the national political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, described Massie's standing as "Almost laughable."