Speaker Johnson says he’s ‘not surprised’ by Massie’s loss in Kentucky GOP primary

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that he was “not surprised” by Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) loss in the Kentucky GOP primary, arguing that President Trump’s endorsement is the “most powerful in the history of politics.”

Massie, a vocal Trump critic who has served in Congress since 2012, lost to Trump-backed candidate Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL and farmer, in the primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District on Tuesday night. 

Massie has long been a thorn in Trump’s side, but has drawn the president’s ire most recently by leading efforts to force the administration to release files related to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and backing war power resolutions aimed at limiting Trump’s military action in Iran without congressional approval. He has also opposed several major pieces of Trump’s legislative agenda, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last........

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