2026年5月5日 美国东部时间早上7:00 / 福克斯新闻
肯塔基州联邦众议员托马斯·马西（共和党）的一名盟友因将马西的挑战者埃德·加尔雷恩描述为涉嫌滥用伤残福利的退伍军人而遭到抨击。
“埃德·加尔雷恩声称自己完全丧失劳动能力并领取政府福利，同时又称他在家族农场从事要求严苛的全职农活，”广播和播客主持人安德鲁·库珀里德在脸书的一篇帖子中写道。
“这引发了关于一致性、透明度和问责制的严重质疑。”
该帖子遭到退伍军人社区专家的批评，他们称这是对美国退伍军人事务部（VA）伤残评级制度的错误描述。这也凸显了这场竞选的敏感性：特朗普背书的候选人与特朗普最频繁的批评者之一展开对决。
独家新闻：特朗普背书的前海豹突击队队员发起共和党初选挑战，对阵马西
2026年3月11日，在肯塔基州希伯伦的沃斯特物流园区活动中，肯塔基州共和党国会候选人埃德·加尔雷恩发表讲话，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在一旁聆听。（安德鲁·哈尼克/盖蒂图片社）
“任何竞选活动试图利用退伍军人事务部的伤残评级来攻击他人，都是可耻的，”退伍军人权益倡导组织“退伍军人行动”的创始人兼主席马克·卢卡斯在谈及库珀里德的帖子时说道。
“仅仅因为一名退伍军人有伤残，并不意味着他们无法工作，”卢卡斯补充道。
加尔雷恩将自己定位为支持特朗普的候选人，旨在推翻这位共和党最大的“眼中钉”。他认为，马西投票反对特朗普的《宏伟美好法案》、推动通过《爱泼斯坦文件透明度法案》，以及持续批评伊朗和委内瑞拉的海外冲突，都与共和党主流背道而驰。
加尔雷恩今年早些时候获得了特朗普的背书。
其竞选团队顾问蒂姆·默塔夫抨击了库珀里德的脸书帖子，称这种批评是“令人反感的攻击”。
“这是对一名退伍军人的荒谬且令人反感的攻击，可能是对隐私的非法侵犯，这证明马西和他的盟友确实毫无廉耻之心，”默塔夫说道。
独家专访：特朗普准备干预案件之际，前海军海豹突击队队员埃迪·加拉格尔发声
埃德·加尔雷恩在获得特朗普背书后，启动了挑战肯塔基州联邦众议员托马斯·马西的国会竞选活动。该声明于3月在白宫椭圆形办公室发布。（福克斯新闻）
根据他的在线简历，在投身政治之前，加尔雷恩曾在海豹突击队第六分队服役，被部署到巴拿马、波斯湾等冲突地区，之后回到家族农场工作。
目前尚不清楚是什么伤势导致退伍军人事务部给加尔雷恩授予100%的伤残评级。
达林·塞尔尼克曾担任白宫国内政策委员会退伍军人事务顾问，同时也是“退伍军人行动”的高级顾问，他解释称，伤残评级是对服役期间所受伤害的多因素评估，以此作为联邦援助的依据。
他强调，退伍军人对最终获得的评级几乎没有话语权。
从军官到创作者：“MandatoryFunday”在退伍军人日反弹中挺过风波：“我选择一笑而过”
华盛顿特区退伍军人事务部总部外的标识。（斯特凡尼·雷诺兹/彭博社）
“当你提交索赔申请时，退伍军人事务部会安排一名独立的体检医师查看你的医疗记录，他们还会进行额外的体检以确认医疗记录中的内容，这份报告将提交给评级审核员，”塞尔尼克说道。
“随后退伍军人事务部会表示，好的，根据这个评级，你将每月获得X金额的补偿，用于你因服役导致的伤残。”
库珀里德没有立即回应福克斯新闻数字频道的置评请求。
利奥·布里塞诺是福克斯新闻数字频道国会团队的政治记者，此前曾在《世界杂志》任职。
Massie ally sparks backlash after accusing Trump-backed challenger of abusing VA benefits
May 5, 2026 7:00am EDT / Fox News
An ally of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is receiving blowback for painting Ed Gallrein, Massie’s challenger, as a veteran potentially abusing disability benefits.
“Ed Gallrein has received government benefits for claiming to be 100% physically disabled, while also claiming to do demanding full-time farm work on his family’s operation,” Andrew Cooperrider, a radio and podcast host, said in a post to Facebook.
“This raises serious questions about consistency, transparency and accountability.”
The post drew criticisms from experts in the veterans’ community for what they called a mischaracterization of the Veterans Affairs (VA) disability rating system. It also highlights the sensitivity of a race that pits a Trump-endorsed candidate against one of the president’s most frequent critics.
SCOOP: TRUMP-BACKED FORMER NAVY SEAL LAUNCHES GOP PRIMARY CHALLENGE AGAINST MASSIE
Republican congressional candidate for Kentucky, Ed Gallrein speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks during an event at Verst Logistics on March 11, 2026 in Hebron, Kentucky.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“I think it’s disgraceful that any type of campaign would try to use a VA disability rating against somebody,” Mark Lucas, Founder and President of Veteran Action, an advocacy group, said of Cooperrider’s post.
“Just because a veteran has a disability, it does not mean that they can’t work,” Lucas added.
Gallrein has positioned himself as a pro-Trump candidate looking to unseat the biggest thorn in the side of the GOP. He contends that Massie’s decision to vote against Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, his push to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act and constant criticisms of overseas conflicts in Iran and Venezuela all go against the grain of the party.
Gallrein received Trump’s endorsement earlier this year.
Tim Murtaugh, an advisor to his campaign, blasted Cooperrider’s Facebook post, calling the criticism an “offensive attack.”
“This is a ridiculous and offensive attack on a veteran, a potentially illegal invasion of privacy and it proves Massie and his allies truly have no shame and no honor,” Murtaugh said.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH NAVY SEAL EDDIE GALLAGHER AS TRUMP POISED TO INTERVENE IN CASE
Ed Gallrein launched a congressional campaign to challenge Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky after President Donald Trump endorsed him. The announcement took place in the Oval Office at the White House in March.(Fox News)
Prior to his political aspirations, Gallrein served as a member of SEAL Team Six, deploying to conflict zones in Panama, Persian Gulf among others, before returning to work on his family’s farm, according to his online biography.
It’s unclear what kind of injuries led the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to give Gallrein the 100% disability rating.
Darin Selnick, former VA Affairs advisor for the White House Domestic Policy Council and a senior advisor for Veteran Action, explained that a disability rating is a multi-factor assessment of injuries sustained in service-related activity that then serves as a basis for federal assistance.
He stressed that veterans have little say in the rating they ultimately receive.
ARMY OFFICER-TURNED-CREATOR ‘MANDATORYFUNDAY’ RISES ABOVE VETERANS DAY BACKLASH: ‘I CHOOSE TO LAUGH’
Signage is displayed outside the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters in Washington, D.C.(Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg)
“When you file for the claim, the VA has an independent medical examiner that looks at your medical records. They do additional medical examinations to confirm what’s in the medical records. That report goes to the ratings examiner,” Selnick said.
“VA then says, okay, based on this rating, you then get X amount of compensation per month for the service-connected injuries that happened to you.”
Cooperrider did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.
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