‘I’ve got seven months left’: Massie lost his primary, but made it clear the Epstein files aren’t going away anytime soon

Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Kentucky Republican primary to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL. The race became the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, with more than $32 million spent on ads. Pro-Trump, pro-Israel groups, and billionaire donors all poured money into the race to defeat Massie, who had spent much of his final term pushing for the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Massie did not go quietly. His concession speech in Hebron, Kentucky, was defiant. He opened by joking that it took him a while to reach Gallrein to concede because he had to find him “in Tel Aviv,” a jab at the pro-Israel money that flooded the race against him. He then moved on to what he clearly saw as the real story of his time in Congress.

In front of a crowd chanting his name, Massie pointed to the six-month mark of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law he pushed through Congress alongside Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California. “We’ve taken out two dozen CEOs, an ambassador, a prince, a prime minister, a minister of culture, and that was just six months,” he said. “I’ve got seven months left in Congress.” The crowd erupted.

Massie’s role in releasing the Epstein files might have cost him his seat

Massie and Khanna introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act in July 2025. The bill required the Justice Department to release all its records on Epstein in a searchable, downloadable format. To force a vote, Massie collected 218 signatures on a discharge petition, bypassing Speaker Mike Johnson, who had tried to block the vote at Trump’s request.

The bill passed the House 427 to 1. Trump signed it into law on November 19, 2025. You can read more about how Trump’s Kentucky primary win unfolded and what it cost Massie. But the relationship between Massie and Trump soured quickly after that.

Only four Republicans signed the discharge petition that forced the vote, Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert. Greene later wrote online that Trump had gone after each of them one by one. Massie described the Epstein files as the issue that put him “on the wrong side of the president for quite a while.” At one point, Massie also went public about fearing a Trump-led Epstein cover-up, raising concerns about whether the full records would ever see the light of day.

The Epstein issue was not the only thing that angered Trump. Massie also voted against Trump’s large tax and spending bill, opposed U.S. military involvement in Iran, and introduced a bill to force the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC to register as a foreign agent. When asked about Massie’s loss, Trump told reporters: “He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose.”

Despite losing, Massie’s allies were quick to rally around him. Ro Khanna said after the result: “He lost because he had the guts to take on the Epstein class.” The loss came despite strong support from younger Republican voters. Polls showed Massie drawing most of his support from voters under 40, while trailing badly among those over 60.

Massie now returns to Washington as a lame duck with nothing left to lose. He hinted at a possible future run and said the race had turned into something bigger than a primary. “What started out as an election turned into a movement,” he told supporters. With seven months left in office, he has made clear that the Epstein files are still very much on his agenda.