Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said Wednesday that Republican lawmakers don't need to fall in line on every issue to back President Trump, as a wave of primary defeats hit incumbents the president had targeted for disloyalty.
Asked about Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-Ky.) loss to Trump-endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein on Tuesday, Boebert told NewNation's Chris Cuomo she was “sad” about the outcome. She had campaigned for Massie in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District over the weekend, but he lost by more than 9 points.
After the defeat, Boebert posted on social media that Massie “gave his all in Kentucky,” but added that Trump is “my President.” In the interview, she defended balancing those loyalties. “I announced that I was for my president, Donald J. Trump, and also, I was going to stand by my friend Thomas Massie,” she said. “You don't have to be a rubber stamp for the president to support him and to align with him and also follow his agenda.”
Boebert did voice a specific grievance: how the White House handles policy negotiations with Hill Republicans. “President Trump gives the broad outline of what he wants to accomplish. And then we get staff from the White House that come to the Hill and try to tell us how to legislate that or what to accept,” she said. “And it's unacceptable.”
The tension comes as Trump's primary victories mount. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) lost his primary last weekend to Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming. Five Indiana state senators who opposed mid-decade redistricting also lost their primaries earlier this month to Trump-endorsed challengers. In Texas, the president endorsed Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the upcoming GOP primary, despite objections from Cornyn's allies.
But some Republicans insist dissent is possible. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), the fourth-highest-ranking House Republican, said on the Capitol steps, “I have found the president extremely reasonable to deal with. I mean, we don't agree [on everything]. It's kind of like a marriage, you don't agree with your spouse 100 percent of the time.” She added, “Disagreement isn't disloyalty.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), a friend of Massie's, said he takes disagreements directly to Trump. “I've found with President Trump [to] go to him with my disagreements, and tell him what I disagree with him about,” Burchett said. “And we've had some nice compromises in the past.”
Boebert herself faced Trump's ire after she campaigned for Massie; the president called for a primary challenger against her in Colorado's 4th District. But Boebert noted that with her primary set for June 30, there is no time for a write-in candidate to emerge. That likely sets up a general election matchup with Democrat Eileen Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral who is also unopposed in her primary. “It is the two of us head-to-head for the rest of this cycle,” Boebert said.
The dynamics underscore a broader GOP rift. GOP lawmakers increasingly defy Trump as election pressures mount, even as his primary machine proves potent. Trump threatened to pull Boebert endorsement over Massie alliance, highlighting the personal stakes for those who cross him. Meanwhile, Cassidy's Louisiana loss sends stark warning to Senate Republicans on Trump loyalty, as the president's influence shows no sign of waning.
