President Trump withdrew his endorsement for Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) on Saturday over what he called a "lack of support" for the president's sweeping tariff agenda, saying he would endorse Hurd's challenger in the upcoming GOP primary instead.
"Based of a lack of support, in particular for the unbelievably successful TARIFFS imposed on Foreign Countries and Companies which has made America Richer, Stronger, Bigger, and Better than ever before, I am hereby WITHDRAWING my Endorsement of RINO Congressman Jeff Hurd, of Colorado's 3rd District, and fully Endorsing Highly Respected Patriot, Hope Scheppelman, to take his place in Congress," Trump wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post.
The Hill reached out to Hurd's campaign for comment.
Hurd was among a group of six House Republicans who joined with Democrats earlier this month to pass a resolution to repeal Trump's tariffs on Canada by terminating the national emergency the president had used to justify the punitive action.
The congressman defended his vote by emphasizing Congress's primary authority to regulate foreign trade and arguing that the administration's tariff policy harmed individuals and businesses in Colorado.
"If we normalize broad emergency trade powers today, we should expect that a future president -- of either party -- will rely on the same authority in ways many of us would strongly oppose. Institutional consistency matters. The Constitution does not shift depending on who occupies the White House. My responsibility is to defend the separation of powers regardless of political convenience," Hurd wrote in a post on X.
As the vote unfolded, Trump took to social media to caution Republicans about potential political consequences if they opposed tariffs, a threat he has now acted on by pulling his support for Hurd.
"Congressman Hurd is one of a small number of Legislators who have let me and our Country down. He is more interested in protecting Foreign Countries that have been ripping us off for decades than he is the United States of America," Trump wrote Saturday.
Trump noted it was only the second time he had pulled back an endorsement, pointing to former Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), whom he slammed as "woke" and disloyal at the time. Brooks ultimately lost to then-Rep. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) in the 2022 Republican primary after Trump switched his endorsement.
"Taking back an Endorsement is a difficult decision for me," he wrote. "These are the decisions that must be made, however, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
The decision comes a day after the Supreme Court struck down the bulk of Trump's tariffs, ruling in a 6-3 decision that his expanded use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) exceeded his authority. The president has since introduced a new universal 15 percent tariff on imports from countries around the globe.
Hurd is facing off against Scheppelman, a former Colorado GOP vice chair, in the June 30 GOP primary for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District.