War Secretary Pete Hegseth participated in a campaign rally on Monday for former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who is running for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District against incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
Hegseth’s participation breaks a long-held norm that defense secretaries avoid partisan politics, though his willingness to wade into partisanship has long been a component of his tenure. There were also concerns, which the Pentagon disputed, that his appearance at the rally violated the Hatch Act, a law that limits the political activities of executive branch employees.
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“I have to say up front for the lawyers — I’m here in my personal capacity as a private citizen, a fellow American, and a fellow combat veteran, here to support Ed Gallrein,” Hegseth said in his opening remarks.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Washington Examiner prior to the event that “No taxpayer dollars will be used to facilitate his visit. His participation has been thoroughly vetted and cleared by lawyers, including the Department of War Office of General Counsel, and does not violate the Hatch Act or any other applicable federal statute.”
Hegseth, during the campaign speech, hyped up Gallrein’s military career, saying, “He led at the very highest levels of special operations. He served with distinction as a Navy SEAL and rose into leadership within the elite ranks of SEAL Team Six, one of the most demanding combat organizations on planet Earth.”
He compared Gallrein’s military service with Massie: “Now, contrast that with what we’ve gotten from Tom Massie. At some point, being against everything becomes an excuse for accomplishing nothing.” He added, “At some point, constant obstruction is not leadership, it’s just commentary. It’s obstruction.”
“He needs people willing to help him win, to vote with him when it matters the most, and too often Thomas Massive has acted like his job is to stand apart from the movement that President Trump leads, instead of strengthening it. When President Trump needs backup, Massie wants to debate process. When the movement needs unity, especially at the biggest moments, Massie is willing to vote with Democrats when conservatives are fighting the most radical Left in American history,” he continued.
The primary is on Tuesday, and Massie is trying to hold his seat despite Trump’s opposition.
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Earlier in the day, Hegseth visited Fort Campbell, where he presided over a ceremony to award Purple Hearts to 101st Airborne Division Soldiers wounded during a 2003 grenade attack in Kuwait and to administer the oath of enlistment to 190 reenlistees.
Parnell declined to answer additional questions about which parts of the trip would be paid by taxpayers and whether Hegseth would cover expenses incurred outside his duty as secretary.
In early March, Hegseth was set to appear at a campaign rally for Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), but his appearance was ultimately canceled following the start of the Iran war. Days before the scheduled event, six American service members from the 103rd Sustainment Command, which is based in Nunn’s home state of Iowa, were killed in an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait.
In late April, in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee that focused heavily on the war in Iran, Hegseth said the “biggest adversaries we face at this point are the reckless, feckless, and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans two months in.”
