Pete Hegseth boosts Trump-backed challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie ahead of Kentucky primary
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Monday at a campaign event aimed at boosting President Donald Trump’s challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., ahead of Kentucky’s primary election Tuesday.
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“I’m proud to stand here alongside Ed Gallrein, because he led warriors into battle,” Hegseth said at an event in Hebron, Kentucky. “He has led the highest levels of special operations. He served with distinction as a Navy SEAL and rose to leadership within the elite ranks of SEAL Team Six, one of the most demanding combat organizations on planet Earth.”
The event was organized by the nonprofit America First Works, a pro-Trump group. Gallrein, who entered the race at Trump’s request, spoke shortly before Hegseth.
In his remarks, Gallrein said the military “deserves a commander in chief who supports them and leaders they can trust. They have them in Donald Trump, and they have them in Pete Hegseth, right?”
The New York Times was first to report that Hegseth would attend the event.
It is very unusual for the Secretary of Defense to attend a political event. Massie, a vocal Trump critic who led the campaign to release government documents on Jeffrey Epstein, was first elected to Congress in 2012. Massie also opposed Trump and Hegseth’s handling of the Iran war.
Hegseth emphasized the atypical nature of his appearance in his remarks, saying, “I must say at the outset, for the sake of the lawyers, that I am here in my personal capacity as a private citizen, a fellow American, and a veteran. »
Guidelines for Department of Defense employees and military personnel state that they should be “aware of the various limitations that exist on participation in political activities, particularly during an election year.”
Before the event, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told NBC News in a statement that Hegseth would only appear “in his personal capacity.”
“No taxpayer money will be used to facilitate his visit,” Parnell said in a statement. “His participation was carefully reviewed and authorized by attorneys, including the War Department’s Office of General Counsel, and does not violate the Hatch Act or any other applicable federal law.”
In an interview on Fox News on Monday, Gallrein accused Massie of betraying conservative values by blocking the president’s agenda and aligning himself with “radical Democrats.” Gallrein also denounced Massie as a “never Trumper” who only joined the Republican Party after Trump’s re-election defeat.
Massie’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
