Massie files for 2028 but unsure about which ‘office to seek’
Center Right
Fresh off his primary defeat, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) filed paperwork on Monday to run again for his House seat in 2028, though he acknowledged he has not made a “final decision about which office to seek, if I run.” Massie filed the paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional […]
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) signaled he could be considering a political comeback just days after losing his primary election to a President Donald Trump-backed challenger, according to reports on Monday.Massie has been an outspoken critic of Trump and announced in a post on X that he filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for the 2028 election, The Hill reported."I filed with FEC for the 2028 House race. This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office. I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run," Massie wrote.The filing revealed that Massie has selected his Kentucky-based campaign committee as his main committee for 2028, according to The Hill."He also authorized the Transportation Trust Fund to 'receive and expend' funds on his behalf. The Wisconsin-based joint fundraising committee raises money on behalf of the campaign committees of more than 30 House Republicans," The Hill reported.Ed Gallrein won the GOP primary last Tuesday in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District. Trump endorsed Gallrein in the fallout over Massie's push to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, his opposition to the Iran war and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, among other political differences.Massie supporters started chanting "2028" during his concession speech. "When Massie replied that the crowd wanted him to run for Congress again, his supporters yelled, 'No,' and repeatedly chanted, 'President,' The Hill reported.Massie responded to the chanting, saying "Alright, well you’ve made a compelling argument, you spoke your peace, but I need a medical margarita right now and we’ll talk about it later."
A Justice Department court filing defending Donald Trump's controversial White House ballroom project reads less like a legal document and more like a Trump Truth Social post — complete with random capitalization, invented words, and language straight from the president's social media feed, according to an ex-CBS News reporter who reviewed the filing Monday."Trump's fingerprints are all over a new Justice Dept court filing," wrote Scott MacFarlane, who also noted the document's random capitalization and claims that Trump is providing America an "invaulable gift" — a word that does not exist in the English language.The six-page filing, submitted to defend the ongoing ballroom and East Wing construction project, also claims the project is "underbudget" — a striking assertion given that Senate Republicans recently fielded a request for $1 billion in taxpayer money to fund it, a demand so outrageous it helped trigger a Republican revolt that sent senators home for recess without passing Trump's reconciliation bill.The Justice Department also argued in the filing that "without the construction of this great Project, the President cannot safely conduct the business of the United States" — capitalizing the word "Project" in a style familiar to anyone who follows Trump's social media posts, according to MacFarlane.Perhaps most remarkably, the filing specifies that the ballroom's rooftop "will be hermetically sealed to prevent malign forces from contaminating the circulating air."The filing also cited Saturday's Secret Service shooting incident at the White House as further justification for continuing construction on the ballroom — an argument MacFarlane flagged as notable given the project's controversial status on Capitol Hill.Trump's fingerprints are all over a new Justice Dept court filing defending the Trump BallroomRandom capitalizationClaims that Trump is providing America an "invaulable gift"Claims the project is "underbudget" despite Senate request for $1 billion in taxpayer money(MORE) pic.twitter.com/92bnUyx7u5— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) May 25, 2026
Early Saturday evening, May 23 during Memorial Day Weekend, U.S. Secret Service agents exchanged fire with a gunman who was approaching a White House security checkpoint in Washington, DC. The gunman was killed, and President Donald Trump is responding to the incident by arguing that it makes a case for his White House ballroom. And Trump's legal team makes that argument in a court filing posted online the day after the incident.Politico legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein posted the six-page legal document on X, formerly Twitter, noting how decidedly Trumpian the language in the filing is.Gerstein tweeted, "JUST IN: Another court filing obviously written by Trump, seeks to leverage shooting Saturday to end litigation over WH ballroom project. Calls latest episode 'assassination attempt.' Cites news reports, but no other proof/legal cases. Ends w/a '!"The filing in National Trust For Historic Preservation, Plaintiff, v. National Park Service, as Gerstein points out, is full of Trump Administration talking points."On Saturday night, May 23rd," the document reads, "a shooter once again sought to murder the President, his family, and his staff at the historic White House complex. We submit this urgent filing to update the Court on a second attempted assassination on the President within a single month. Last night, shortly after 6:00 p.m., an armed assassin approached a White House security checkpoint near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, professionally pulled a high caliber gun from a bag, and opened fire in the exact direction of the White House. Brave Secret Service officers returned fire. The gunman was killed and an innocent bystander was seriously wounded in the shooting."Many of Trump's critics are attacking the proposed ballroom as a vanity project that will cost taxpayers a fortune. But the court filing claims that the ballroom is necessary from a national security standpoint."This second attack on the President this month underscores the critical need for top level, state of the art security at the White House, including the Ballroom, a knitted, unified, cohesive part of the East Wing Project, which is vital for National Security, and is being constructed to ensure that the President can perform his constitutional duties in a safe and heavily secured facility," the filing states. "This court's unlawful injunction has wrongfully cast a cloud of uncertainty around the future of the entire East Wing Project, which is being constructed for the physical safety and security of all Presidents, their families, staff, Foreign Dignitaries, and guests. When completed, this highly knitted, integrated, and unified Project, which is a singular and vital National Security facility, will provide a 'SAFE HAVEN' from attackers such as the one last night, and on April 25th. It will provide a highly secure space for future Inaugurations, and other major events, such as the recent visit of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, and the coming visit in September of President Xi of China." The document also states that the "under construction East Wing Project, which is on time and under budget, includes state of the art security features to repel all attacks against the President, his family, his staff, and esteemed visitors.""These include a heavy steel, drone proof roof, missile resistant and drone proof columns, bullet, ballistic, and blast proof glass, Military grade venting for air conditioning and heating, and much more," the Trump Administration writes. "Together, the entire Facility, which includes bomb shelters, a state of the art hospital and medical facilities, Top Secret military installations, structures, and equipment, protective partitioning, and other features, is a single integrated, complex unit that is vital for the National Security of the United States."
Last week in the Kentucky GOP primary, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) was beaten by MAGA-certified challenger Ed Gallrein in a race that many say re-verified President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican party, proving once again that his endorsement can make or break candidates depending on their loyalty to him personally. Now Massie — who has drawn Trump’s ire over the course of the past 18 months for his willingness to break with the White House agenda — has filed to run in 2028 for the House seat he just lost, adding new significance to the election that will also choose a new president.In the runup to Massie’s defeat last week, the Kentucky race swelled to become the most expensive primary in history. Trump and his political allies flooded the election with money after the Representative voted against a handful of Trump policies, pushed for the release of the Epstein files, and opposed the war with Iran. The race caused fractures not only throughout the Republican party but within diehard MAGA circles, with former Trump allies like Tucker Carlson and ex-Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene backing Massie, and the Administration along with powerful pro-Israel lobbies coordinating efforts to oppose him. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth raised eyebrows by stumping for Gallrein in the final days of the race, breaking Pentagon neutrality norms. And Representative Lauren Boebert attempted to voice support for both Massie and Trump, prompting a predictable attack from the latter, who immediately suggested she be primaried.The president has frequently used his primary endorsement as a cudgel for keeping Republicans in line, and has proven that he still has a grip on the party, with his candidates consistently beating targeted incumbents on both state and national levels. But many warn that Trump’s short-term wins could mean defeat for the Republicans in the November general election. While the president’s endorsement may be effective within the GOP, that is likely no longer the case in a broader election where candidates depend on independent swing voters. Trump’s approval among swing voters has plunged to historic lows over issues like the war with Iran, the spiraling economy, and many other factors. As a result, voters have expressed an overwhelming desire for Democratic candidates in generic ballots, which has Republicans worried they may lose their majorities in the House and maybe even the Senate. While Massie will leave office at the end of this term, his filing for 2028 suggests he recognizes that while Trump may have power over the party for now, enthusiasm for the president is waning fast.
Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who last week lost his re-election bid after serving seven terms, vowed on Sunday that during his remaining seven months in office, he would publicly identify individuals linked to Jeffrey Epstein whose names, critics have said, had been unlawfully redacted in Justice Department files.“I’ve got seven more months to keep going against the grain,” Massie told NBC News’ Kristen Welker during an appearance on the network’s “Meet the Press.”Welker noted that Massie had legal protections for remarks made while on the House floor, and as such, asked the Kentucky Republican whether he intended on identifying individuals connected to Epstein as he and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) had done in the past.“As you’ve noted, the Speech or Debate Clause actually protects you from being prosecuted for whatever you say on the floor of the House,” Welker said. “You have named names in the Epstein files in the past – can we expect you to name more names in the coming weeks and months?”Massie responded by bluntly saying “yes” before going on to accuse Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of “violating the law” by continuing to withhold millions of files related to Epstein.“There are still millions of files they haven’t released, we know from talking to the victims’ lawyers that their own 302 forms haven’t been released, we know the files have been over-redacted,” Massie said. “I don’t think it’s possible to get to convictions with Todd Blanche at the top and with the FBI director – Kash Patel – at the top, because they’ve effectively both perjured themselves by saying that there’s nobody else in the files. Even Melania [Trump] doesn’t believe that, the first lady knows that Jeffrey Epstein didn’t act alone!”🇺🇸 Thomas Massie says he will publicly read the names of Epstein clients before leaving Congress.HERO! pic.twitter.com/3DbhIWeFy0— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinkle) May 24, 2026
Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press to promote his character and principled superiority to all other congressional representatives, the professional political narcissist, Thomas Massie, pledges to create as much turmoil as possible in his final seven months. Video and Transcript Below: {TRANSCRIPT} – KRISTEN WELKER: And joining me now is Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of […]
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