Congressman Thomas Massie officially now has a primary challenger backed by President Trump running against him in 2026, according to Federal Election Commission paperwork filed Tuesday. Captain Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL officer and Army Ranger, won Mr. Trump’s endorsement last week before he officially jumped in the race. 

Mr. Massie has been in the president’s crosshairs for months, and after threatening him with retribution in the past, Mr. Trump hopes next year will be the year he can finally pull it off. The Kentucky congressman was the only GOP lawmaker to vote against Mr. Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill, and is now pushing bipartisan legislation through the House to force a disclosure of the Epstein files. 

On Friday, Mr. Trump endorsed Captain Gallrein in the Republican primary for Kentucky’s Fourth District, where Mr. Massie has served as representative since 2013. Mr. Trump called the sitting congressman “a Weak and Pathetic RINO from the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky” who “must be thrown out of office, ASAP.” 

“Unlike ‘lightweight’ Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN,” the president wrote. 

At the time Mr. Trump endorsed him, Captain Gallrein was not yet in the race, but on Tuesday, he made it official. According to records from the Federal Election Commission, Captain Gallrein filed a notice of his candidacy for the Fourth District. 

“While Trump is fighting to restore America, Thomas Massie is standing in the way. I served over 30 yrs as a Navy SEAL & military advisor — I’m ready to answer the call again,” Captain Gallrein wrote in his first post on X on Tuesday. “I’m proud to have Trump’s endorsement, and I’ll stand with him to deliver America First results for KY.”

The last time Mr. Trump came after Mr. Massie was in 2020, when the congressman was the only House lawmaker to object to the unanimous passage of the multi-trillion dollar Covid-era CARES Act. The president at the time did not endorse a specific challenger to Mr. Massie, but he did urge voters in the Fourth District to boot him from office. 

Mr. Massie went on to win his primary later that year with more than 80 percent of the vote. 

“In 2020, I got my Trump antibodies from a natural infection when he came after me, and, you know, I survived,” Mr. Massie told reporters earlier this year when the president first started attacking him. “It will deplete his political capital if he doesn’t succeed, and he knows that, so that’s gotta be part of his calculus.”

“I am not going to lose,” he added, flashing a smile. “I do not lose.”

Mr. Massie has few powerful friends left in Congress, with Speaker Mike Johnson and other leaders in the Republican conference constantly expressing frustration with their colleague. Mr. Massie has recently been critical of the president’s strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean, as well. 

When asked by the Sun over the summer if he would endorse Mr. Massie for re-election — as is customary for party leaders — Mr. Johnson declined to comment, saying only that it was “up to” Mr. Massie if he wanted his endorsement. 

He does have a friend in Senator Rand Paul, however. In recent weeks, the two Kentuckyians have been traveling around the Fourth District to talk with constituents. During those meetings, Mr. Paul has urged others to support Mr. Massie for another term in the House. 

On Tuesday, Mr. Paul — who told the Sun that he was not invited by the president to a White House lunch with GOP senators — shared another message of support for Mr. Massie on X. 

“I actually wasn’t invited to the White House lunch today, but that’s ok I had a previously scheduled Liberty Caucus Lunch with ⁦@MassieforKY⁩,” Mr. Paul wrote, including a photo of Mr. Massie and himself sitting together in the senator’s office.