Ro Khanna courts Thomas Massie supporters after bruising primary loss: 'We welcome you'

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep. Ro Khanna is rolling out the welcome mat for supporters of Rep. Thomas Massie after the Kentucky Republican’s primary defeat.

Taking to X after the race was called, the California Democrat blasted what he described as attacks on Massie and argued the libertarian-minded Republican was punished for taking on powerful interests.

“My good friend Thomas Massey lost tonight. I'm angered by the smears on his character,” Khanna said.

“He lost because he had the guts to take on the Epstein class. He lost because he had the guts to stand up against the war in Iran. He worked with me to pass the most consequential and popular piece of bipartisan legislation in recent history, the Epstein Transparency Act. Many young voters under 50 voted for him. He was winning them by over 30 points.”

Khanna then pitched an alternative for disillusioned conservatives and independents unhappy with President Donald Trump and the current Republican coalition.

“And today I say you may not have a home in the Trump coalition, but there is a new generation of populist Democrats, and we welcome you to help us change this country, change the rotten system, and have a politics that puts the working class ahead of the Epstein class,” he said.

Khanna added on X, “We will build a movement to stand for Team America.”

An unlikely bipartisan partnership

Massie and Khanna had formed one of Congress’s stranger and more durable bipartisan alliances in recent years. The duo repeatedly teamed up on issues where both parties’ leadership often preferred not to stir the pot, particularly on war powers, government secrecy, and the handling of files tied to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Their partnership became especially visible through the Epstein Files Transparency Act that was introduced in July 2025. Massie introduced the resolution, H.Res. 581, while Khanna signed on as an original co-sponsor.

Using a discharge petition to sidestep House leadership, the pair forced a floor vote compelling the Department of Justice to release records tied to Epstein. The measure ultimately passed the House in a lopsided 427-1 vote in November 2025.

“We all deserve to know what’s in the Epstein files, who’s implicated, and how deep this corruption goes,” Massie said at the time. Americans were promised justice and transparency. We’re introducing a discharge petition to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on releasing the complete files. If your Representative won’t sign the discharge petition, ask why.”

The lawmakers later reviewed unredacted material together and publicly raised concerns over missing names and redactions. Khanna pointed to names being concealed, while Massie described what they found after reviewing the documents.

“There are six men. We went in there for two hours. There are millions of files, right? And in a couple of hours, we found six men whose names have been redacted, who are implicated in the way that the files are presented,” Massie said.

United against 'wars of choice'

The two lawmakers also joined forces repeatedly on foreign policy fights, especially efforts to limit unauthorized military action overseas.

Massie and Khanna backed bipartisan war powers resolutions tied to Yemen, Iran, and other potential conflicts, arguing Congress and not the White House alone should decide when the US enters hostilities.

Khanna once described the relationship as “very friendly.”

“We text back and forth all the time. I will often see him on the House floor, pick up the phone and call him,” he said. “Obviously, we come from different ideological perspectives, but there are areas where we have agreement in making sure that we’re preventing wars of choice overseas and transparency.”

Meanwhile, Massie has praised Khanna’s willingness to work across party lines without turning every disagreement into political theater.