Trump allies spent $29M to destroy his most hated enemy – and it's backfiring

President Donald Trump is throwing the full weight of his political machine against Rep. Thomas Massie in Tuesday's Kentucky Republican primary, turning the congressional race into the most expensive and consequential loyalty test of his second term.

More than $29 million has been spent on advertising alone in the contest, making it one of the costliest primary battles in American history, and the extraordinary sum reflects how personally Trump has taken Massie's repeated defiance — and how badly the president wants to make an example of him, reported CNN.

“You can’t escape it, it’s everywhere,” said Joni Pugh – who backs both Trump and Massie – of the advertising onslaught purchased with that campaign cash. “That’s what really worries me. I’m afraid [Massie] won’t make it this time. I don’t think he’s ever gone through anything like this.”

Trump personally recruited challenger Ed Gallrein, a farmer and former Navy SEAL, in the Oval Office last October and urged him to run, and a week later Gallrein announced his candidacy. Trump then traveled to Kentucky in March to publicly anoint him, offering a characteristically backhanded endorsement: "Give me somebody with a warm body to beat Massie."

The message from the White House has been unambiguous. After Trump-backed candidates defeated Republicans who defied him in Indiana last week, senior adviser Chris LaCivita posted a three-word warning to Massie on X: "You are next."

What has Massie done to earn such presidential wrath? He voted against Trump's signature "One Big Beautiful Bill," pushed to release the Jeffrey Epstein files after Trump called the issue a Democratic hoax, and has been among the loudest Republican critics of the Iran war. In Trump's words, delivered at the National Prayer Breakfast, Massie is a "moron" who just "loves voting no."

Yet on the ground in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, something is cutting against the presidential onslaught – people genuinely like their congressman, CNN found.

"I've known him all my life and I'll be voting for him because of what kind of person he is," said Kenny Claxon, a retired restaurant owner in Vanceburg. "It doesn't matter what Trump or anybody else says."

Another voter said the attacks may even backfire.

"I'll vote for Thomas because Trump's giving him such a hard time," said Ramona Bivens, holding a cigarette as she ate a hot dog at a Garrison diner. "I just think it's silly."

An offhand comment Donald Trump made on the White House South Lawn before departing for China is causing no small amount of heartburn for Republicans already worried about the midterm elections.

Asked if “Americans’ financial situations” were pushing him to make a deal to end the war with Iran, the president replied, “Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran — they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing — we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

Trump’s blithe dismissal of the economic strain Americans are under now hangs over the already reeling Republicans, The Hill is reporting, with one prominent GOP lawmaker balking at being responsible for the president’s remarks.

'The timing could not be worse politically," The Hill's Julia Manchester wrote on Thursday, pointing out that economic indicators are forcing Republicans to answer for rising costs while more Americans grow frustrated with their deteriorating financial situations.

While Trump and Republicans have periodically blamed inflation on the Biden administration's economic policies, that argument grows weaker with each passing month.

"President Trump's been president for a year and a half now, so it's his economy, even though he inherited a bad one from the Biden administration with respect to rising prices and inflation," Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told The Hill.

“Whoever is president’s going to take it on the chin with respect to inflation and affordability,”

A CNN survey released Monday found 77 percent of Americans — including 55 percent of Republicans and 81 percent of independents — reported that Trump's policies have driven up the cost of living in their communities. The same poll found 75

One Republican strategist told The Hill they appreciated Trump's acknowledgment that political considerations won't dictate military operations overseas. However, they argued the president needs to do far better at recognizing Americans' economic struggles.

"People are hurting back at home, and they're paying the price for it and they're sacrificing for it," the GOP strategist said, referring to the Iran war's economic impact.

"I think that somewhat tacit hat tip to an understanding of the environment and what's actually happening out here, I think people would generally get that. But by ignoring them or essentially saying 'no that's not the case, the economy is great because the stock market is doing great,' that's not meeting where voters are at."

The Trump administration sought to sidestep federal contracting rules to fast-track work on the president's proposed Triumphal Arch by piggybacking on an existing contract to avoid a public bidding process, according to newly revealed documents.

The Washington Post obtained emails showing the Trump administration is attempting to bypass standard competitive bidding procedures to accelerate work on the proposed 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery by leveraging an existing White House engineering contract with AECOM Services.

Park Service acting director Jessica Bowron requested permission April 22 to extend a White House contract for environmental assessment work to the arch site, which sits on National Park Service land across the Potomac River, more than a mile from the White House complex, and within an hour of her email White House officials approved the request.

The arrangement would circumvent the typical bidding process and allow the administration to meet its self-imposed timeline for completing environmental testing before the nation's 250th anniversary on July 4. Heavy machinery was already at the site Monday, according to administration filings.

Contracting experts expressed concern about the approach. Stan Soloway, former Pentagon acquisition official and board chair of the National Academy of Public Administration, called it "a real stretch" to extend a White House campus contract to an arch site miles away.

The administration cited the Economy Act, which permits federal agencies to purchase services from other agencies, but experts said the law should only be used when an agency lacks procurement capability.

"You lose the benefits of competition, pricing and transparency," said contracting attorney Alan Chvotkin, describing the potential harm to taxpayers.

The Park Service estimated the arch work at $600,000. AECOM has received substantial White House contracts worth up to $695 million combined, including work on Trump's proposed ballroom and other high-profile projects.

The Interior Department disputed characterizations of the arrangement, claiming draft emails obtained by the Post did not represent final determinations. An anonymous administration official defended the approach as more economical and efficient.

The arch project remains controversial. Vietnam War veterans and a historian have sued, alleging the monument would obstruct the view between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. The Commission on Fine Arts approved the design despite receiving approximately 1,000 public comments opposing the project.

This contracting approach mirrors the administration's broader pattern of circumventing standard procedures for ambitious Washington reconstruction projects.

In 15 months, the administration has demolished the White House East Wing, painted the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool blue, claimed control of a public golf course and begun renovating the Kennedy Center — all generating legal challenges alleging the projects violate federal law.

The Park Service has not officially authorized arch construction, though environmental testing is underway.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) has been missing from the job for months with no explanation other than an unspecified medical issue, and no time frame to return — and now it turns out that House Republican leadership is just as in the dark on what's going on as the general public.

According to Punchbowl News, "Kean last voted in the House on March 5. Kean’s staff has said publicly that he’s dealing with a medical issue and will return to Washington as soon as possible. No other information has been made available on the two-term lawmaker.

But what’s concerning the GOP leadership is that the 57-year-old Kean and his team aren’t giving them any more information privately. Speaker Mike Johnson and Kean have spoken once. But the entire GOP leadership is in the dark about the reasons for Kean’s 70-day absence from Congress."

Kean's office last month claimed he would be returning to work very soon, but there have been no updates since. Notably, a report last month found that stock trades are still being made on Kean's behalf, even as he remains absent.

Many lawmakers are now fearful that even if Kean does return to work, he won't be in any shape to campaign for his swing district in the fall, jeopardizing the seat at a moment when Republicans are severe underdogs to retain control of the House.

A prominent House GOP leadership aide told Punchbowl, “I don’t have any idea what’s going on,” and several lawmakers agreed with this assessment. Meanwhile, another aide said, “This is about more than one person at this point; it’s about the vote and the ability to hold the seat in the fall. The answer can’t simply be ‘trust us’ when nothing about their behavior has inspired trust.”

"Kean’s district is a top target for Democrats, who have a crowded primary full of well-funded candidates," noted the report, which said that while Kean raised over $1 million in the previous quarter, "three of Kean’s opponents raised more than $500,000, an impressive sum for a challenger."