Trump boots Thomas Massie, reshaping Kentucky GOP

Trump ousts – President Donald Trump dislodged Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s Republican primary on Tuesday, delivering a high-profile defeat to one of his most persistent internal critics. The move landed amid fresh polling showing Republicans’ approval of Trump’s econom

President Donald Trump’s influence over the Republican Party showed up in a blunt way on Tuesday night, after Rep. Thomas Massie lost his bid for reelection in Kentucky’s primary—one of the most recognizable clashes between the president and a member of his own party.

Massie, a longtime GOP outlier in the House, had been difficult to manage for Trump for years. He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. opposed the war with Iran. and voted against Trump’s signature tax legislation last year. Trump’s campaign against him culminated in a costly defeat at the ballot box. following a vicious and expensive attack by the president.

Massie had charted his own way inside a party that often demands loyalty. The loss capped a career like few others in a district that had repeatedly sent him to Congress—leaving behind a question many Republicans now carry when they think about who is next.

The Kentucky result echoed other recent moves that have sharpened the sense that there is little room for dissent. The text of Tuesday’s political developments noted Trump’s earlier ouster of Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana over the weekend. It also pointed to Trump’s Tuesday endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his challenge to Sen. John Cornyn, a decision described as sending chills through the Senate.

While Massie’s defeat removed one of Capitol Hill’s most outspoken critics from the political fight. it did not end the broader pressure Trump faces—especially from within his own party—over how the economy is being handled. A new AP-NORC poll found about 6 in 10 Republicans. or 63%. approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. down from about 8 in 10 in February. before the war began. Among all U.S. adults overall, about one-third approve of his handling of the economy.

Even with that erosion, Republicans’ overall loyalty appears to hold. The poll found roughly 7 in 10 Republicans approve of how Trump is handling the presidency. a share described as similar to earlier this year. Immigration also emerged as a partial opening for Trump: approval on how he handles immigration dropped after months of aggressive enforcement. but about 45% of U.S. adults approve now. Among Republicans, about 8 in 10—83%—approve of how he handles immigration.

Politics on the campaign trail kept moving in parallel with the Kentucky upset. The White House press briefing room became a stage for early positioning as Vice President JD Vance took the lectern on Tuesday for 54 minutes. fielding reporters’ questions. The report said Vance’s time was five minutes longer than the turn taken two weeks earlier by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Vance and Rubio were tapped to fill in as temporary replacements for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave. The extended question-and-answer opportunity was described as a high-profile chance to argue they should be elected commander-in-chief.

Away from the campaign spotlight. the federal government agreed to permanently drop tax claims against Trump as part of a settlement that broadens an IRS lawsuit resolution. The settlement document made public Tuesday says the government will be “forever barred and precluded” from examining or prosecuting Trump. his sons. and the Trump organization’s current tax examinations. as part of resolving Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The document. signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. also says the government is barred from looking into Trump’s family. affiliates and others.

As campaigns headed into the next phase of the election calendar. Georgia’s primaries left no outright winners for key races. The Senate runoff will feature former college football coach Derek Dooley and Rep. Mike Collins, while Rep. Buddy Carter was knocked out of the race. The eventual Republican nominee will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

In the governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and healthcare billionaire Rick Jackson advanced to a runoff. while former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms clinched the Democratic nomination. With about a month until the June 16 runoff. the report said Georgia Republicans will spend more time and money competing among themselves before turning to Democratic opponents in key races.

Alabama’s primary results set up another rematch as well. Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville and former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones. a Democrat. both won their respective governor primaries on Tuesday. leading to a second head-to-head after Tuberville unseated Jones six years ago. The report said Jones was elected to the U.S. Senate in a special election in 2017 but served a short term in a heavily Republican state. and is hoping voter frustration with Republican-dominated government—citing healthcare and the rising cost of living—could fuel another rare Democratic victory in the Deep South.

Taken together. Tuesday’s developments narrowed into one central reality: Massie’s loss left no doubt about Trump’s power over GOP rivals inside red districts. Massie was described as entrenched in Kentucky’s deep-red seat before the feud with Trump exploded. cutting short a congressional career that began in 2012. Still. he will remain in Congress until his term ends in January. with no Republican primary on the horizon. leaving him with a freer hand than ever to antagonize Trump even after the primary defeat.

The sequence of Tuesday’s facts—Massie’s ouster, recent GOP reshuffling triggered by Trump, and a party that remains broadly aligned even as economic approval softens—landed with a clear emotional impact for Republicans watching their own boundaries being redrawn.

Trump Thomas Massie Kentucky primary Republican politics JD Vance Marco Rubio Karoline Leavitt AP-NORC poll economy approval immigration approval IRS lawsuit settlement Todd Blanche Bill Cassidy Ken Paxton John Cornyn Georgia runoff Alabama governor race Tommy Tuberville Doug Jones