Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth campaigned in Kentucky on Monday as part of a concerted effort by President Trump and his allies to punish Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican critic of Mr. Trump, for his perceived disloyalty by backing his primary opponent.
Speaking at a campaign event for Ed Gallrein, Mr. Massie’s rival in the Republican primary, Mr. Hegseth attacked Mr. Massie as an obstructionist, accusing the seven-term libertarian known for bucking the party line of betraying his fellow Republicans — in particular Mr. Trump, who has often raged against Mr. Massie in public statements.
“Too often Massie’s instinct is to throw elbows at fellow Republicans instead of the people who are destroying our country or want to destroy our country,” Mr. Hegseth said, wielding the same hyperbolic rhetoric that he has often used to attack political opponents of the president. Mr. Hegseth added of Mr. Massie: “In the middle of a fight you don’t weaken your own side.”
The campaign appearance was an extraordinary breach of military decorum — even for Mr. Hegseth, who has stretched the boundaries of partisan politics in his job leading the Pentagon. Previous defense secretaries and other Pentagon officials typically stay far away from such activities to avoid even the appearance of partisanship.
But Mr. Hegseth, much like his boss, Mr. Trump, has made flouting political norms a core tenet of his approach as defense secretary. He has openly bragged of wielding his position to punish institutions he decries as “anti-American,” ranging from top universities like Harvard and Yale to the youth organization Scouting America. He has also often invoked conservative Christian theology in his role as defense secretary.
On Monday, Mr. Hegseth made a cursory effort to separate his political endorsement of Mr. Gallrein from his role as defense secretary, declaring at the beginning of his speech: “I have to say upfront, for the lawyers, that I’m here in my personal capacity as a private citizen, a fellow American, and a fellow combat veteran.”
But he also noted that he had just arrived to the rally after an event at Fort Campbell to award Purple Heart medals to troops there. He spoke at length about his experience as defense secretary, and his efforts to remake the military’s culture — which he characterized as rooting out “political indoctrination.”
“President Trump told me when he first offered me this job, he said, ‘Pete, you’re going to have to be tough,’” Mr. Hegseth said, using an expletive as he mimicked the president’s voice to an amused audience. “They’re going to come after you.”
Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, insisted that “no taxpayer dollars will be used to facilitate his visit.” He also claimed that Mr. Hegseth’s political endorsement of Mr. Gallrein does not violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities while they are on the job.
Mr. Massie has openly challenged Mr. Trump in a way that no other congressional Republican seeking re-election this year has done, even as he has stressed that he sided with Mr. Trump on roughly 90 percent of votes. He had voted against the president’s tax legislation, calling it not frugal enough. He has voted repeatedly against the war in Iran and condemned aid to Israel as a misuse of taxpayer money.
Most conspicuously, Mr. Massie had helped lead the charge to compel the release of the Epstein files — an issue that has repeatedly enraged Mr. Trump and led to him cutting ties with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a devoted Trump loyalist.
More than $14 million has been spent by Mr. Gallrein’s campaign and affiliated outside groups, an astronomical figure for most any congressional campaign but particularly so for a Kentucky district whose largest city, Covington, has a population of fewer than 50,000. Mr. Gallrein has received checks ranging from $250,000 to $1 million, via a high-dollar political action committee financed by three billionaires animated by Mr. Massie’s votes against aid to Israel: John Paulson, Paul Singer and Miriam Adelson.
Megan Mineiro and Kevin Williams contributed reporting.
Chris Cameron is a Times reporter covering Washington, focusing on breaking news and the Trump administration.
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