Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced that he will support his fellow libertarian-leaning colleague, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), in his upcoming primary race against a challenger endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Trump threw his support last week behind Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and outspoken loyalist, after calling for a 2026 primary challenge to Massie. The congressman has repeatedly pressed the administration to release all remaining files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, Fox News reported.
Tens of thousands of pages of Epstein files have been released, however.
Massie has frequently broken with Trump and GOP leadership on key issues, including voting against the president’s summer spending bill and asserting that Trump must obtain congressional authorization before engaging in military action.
Paul, who has taken similar positions, also opposed the spending measure in the Senate and has criticized the administration for conducting military strikes without approval from Congress.
Paul is now endorsing Massie’s re-election campaign and is committed to helping him retain his House seat.
“Thomas Massie is going to win,” Paul told POLITICO. “I’m going to help him. I’m going to be with him every step of the way.”
Paul described Massie as an “independent voice” within the Republican Party, noting his frequent breaks with GOP leadership. However, he emphasized that both he and Massie still back President Trump’s agenda “significantly more” than many other Republicans who have sought to align themselves closely with the president.
“The people who’ve gotten close to him who want regime change in Venezuela and want to send more advanced weaponry to Ukraine, those are the interventionists from the interventionist wing of the party who have never been the ones really closely allied,” Paul said. “These are the people who have always opposed Donald Trump.”
Paul said he and Massie will continue to push for “enumerated powers” as well as “balanced budgets, low taxes and less foreign war.”
The Kentucky senator warned that Trump’s decision to single out Massie should concern all Republican lawmakers, emphasizing that taking positions contrary to the president’s agenda could carry political repercussions.
“It’s a warning sign,” he said. “‘Oppose me or any of my policies, and I’ll come after you.’ And I don’t think that’s good for the Republican Party, nor do I think it’s good for the country.”
The senator added that he is frustrated with being treated as the Republican Party’s “whipping boy,” saying many of his colleagues rely on him “to do their job for them” when they are unwilling to tell Trump that his nominees lack sufficient support in the Senate, Fox News reported.
“They say, ‘Oh, well, you’re not afraid of the president. You go tell him his nominee can’t make it,’” Paul said. “So, I’m just tired of always being the whipping boy. I’m tired of [being] the only one that has any guts to stand up and tell the president the truth.”
Paul has also faced criticism from President Trump in recent months but has continued to stand his ground. Most recently, he has spoken out against the administration’s military strikes on boats it claims—based on intelligence—were carrying narco-terrorists.
The senator expressed concern over the lack of due process and the potential for innocent people to be killed in such operations. He pointed to Coast Guard data indicating that a significant percentage of vessels boarded on suspicion of drug trafficking turn out to be innocent.
Earlier this week, Paul disclosed that he had not been invited to a White House luncheon with other Republican senators, reportedly due to his ongoing disagreements with President Trump. He noted, however, that he already had a “Liberty Caucus Lunch” scheduled with Rep. Thomas Massie at the same time.
Paul recently campaigned alongside Massie and said he intends to join him again on the campaign trail in the near future, Fox added.