Massie says he lost reelection due to his bipartisan efforts to release the Epstein files

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) blamed his reelection loss to challenger Ed Gallrein on the times he has worked across the aisle with Democrats instead of voting with Republicans, particularly pointing to his advocacy for the release of the Epstein files.

Massie fell to Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL backed by President Donald Trump, by a near 10 percentage point margin on Tuesday evening, marking the end of his career in Congress for now and handing a win to Trump, who grew frustrated with Massie’s hard-line libertarian-conservative stances against some of his administration’s policies. Massie not only championed the Epstein files with Democrats like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), but also voted against key Trump spending initiatives like the One Big Beautiful Bill because of his stance against the growing deficit.

“I think the biggest crime I committed against the swamp, Kristen, was showing the American people that somebody on the right could join