On May 18, 2026, the day before Kentucky's primary, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke at a campaign event in Hebron, Kentucky, for Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL officer whom President Trump recruited and endorsed to challenge Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in the 4th Congressional District. Military Times called it an extremely unusual move that broke with the military's longstanding tradition of political neutrality.
“President Trump does not need more people in Washington who are trying to make a point, especially from his own party,” Hegseth said. “He needs people willing to help him win and vote with him when it matters most.” He also told the crowd Kentucky could send “a warrior, reinforcements for the president in our shared fight against the radical left, or you can send an obstructionist.” Hegseth opened by saying he was there “in my personal capacity as a private citizen,” and Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the appearance had been cleared by lawyers and “does not violate the Hatch Act or any other applicable federal statute.”
Critics disagreed. Military.com noted that Defense Department Directive 1442.11 treats Senate-confirmed Pentagon officials as “further restricted” employees and prohibits them from “speaking at a campaign rally for a candidate for partisan political office,” and that promotion of the event identified him as Secretary of Defense. Tres Watson, a former Kentucky Republican Party spokesman, said, “I can't remember a secretary of defense coming to a political event like this.” No formal finding has been reported.
Massie had broken with Trump by leading the push to release the Epstein files, voting against the One Big Beautiful Bill, and opposing U.S. military action, including the war with Iran. Gallrein defeated Massie on May 19, according to an AP race call. NPR reported the result as part of a pattern of Trump-backed challengers ousting Republicans who crossed him; in Louisiana, Sen. Bill Cassidy finished third in his primary, and Trump endorsed Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas runoff.
Correction (October 2, 2026): This entry dated the rally May 19 and said Military Times reported that Hegseth spoke in his official capacity. The rally was May 18, and Hegseth said he appeared in a personal capacity, a claim critics dispute. The entry also gave a 55%-45% result, said Cassidy lost a runoff, and included Office of Special Counsel precedents and a claim about Hegseth's broker that the sources we loaded do not support; those were removed, and Cassidy's result is now stated as NPR reported it. A judgment that this was the most direct case of the Pentagon being used as a campaign platform was also removed.