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Khanna: Massie ‘lost because he had the guts to take on the Epstein class’

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by Sarah Davis - 05/20/26 8:54 AM ET

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by Sarah Davis - 05/20/26 8:54 AM ET

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Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) suggested Tuesday that Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) defeat in Kentucky’s Republican primary was connected to his pressure on the Trump administration over its handling of the probe into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“My good friend Thomas Massie lost tonight,” Khanna said in a video posted on social media on Tuesday evening. “I’m angered by the smears on his character. He lost because he had the guts to take on the Epstein class.”

The two lawmakers co-led an effort to push the Justice Department to release all files related to its investigations into Epstein’s criminal dealings. President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law in November, which received bipartisan support in Congress.

The president vowed to release the documents during his 2024 presidential campaign, but he struck a different tune after returning to office and accused Democrats of pushing a “hoax.”

He later reversed his opposition to the legislation after it received broad support from Republicans, urging GOP lawmakers to “vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.”

Trump has faced questions over his own past ties to the disgraced financier, but he’s claimed that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

Khanna lauded Massie’s involvement in the “most consequential and popular piece of bipartisan legislation in recent history” in his Tuesday video. He also noted the support the Kentucky Republican received from younger voters in his reelection race.

“You might not have a home in the Trump coalition, but there is a new generation of populist Democrats, and we welcome you to help us change this country, change the rotten system and have a politics that puts the working class ahead of the Epstein class,” he said.

Trump recruited Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein to challenge Massie’s 14-year hold on Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District after the GOP lawmaker pushed back on several of his administration’s key policies, including the U.S. military operation in Iran.

Gallrein received around 55 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary election, while Massie garnered 45 percent, according to Decision Desk HQ.

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