President Donald Trump on Saturday rescinded his endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd and threw his support behind the Colorado Republican’s primary challenger, Hope Scheppelman, citing the first-term incumbent’s “lack of support” for the administration’s tariff policy.

The move comes after Hurd joined five Republicans and nearly all House Democrats earlier this month in voting to lift Trump’s tariffs on Canada, despite a warning from Trump that GOP lawmakers who opposed him in the largely symbolic vote would “seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries.”

Hurd also voiced support on Friday for the Supreme Court decision that struck down most of the tariffs Trump imposed last year under a law granting the president emergency powers, saying the ruling “underscores the need for Congress to play its proper role in trade policy.”

In a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform, Trump described Hurd as a “RINO Congressman,” using a pejorative term for “Republican in name only,” and said he was “one of a small number of Legislators who have let me and our Country down.”

Trump went on to accuse Hurd of being “more interested in protecting Foreign Countries that have been ripping us off for decades than he is the United States of America.”

After noting that he’s only withdrawn an endorsement once before — in the 2022 Alabama U.S. Senate primary, when the candidate Trump eventually supported defeated the one he had initially backed — Trump said he is instead endorsing Scheppelman, a Navy veteran and former vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party.

Scheppelman, Trump said, “has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Representative from Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District and, unlike RINO Jeff Hurd, HOPE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

When Trump endorsed Hurd last fall, he used similar language, saying the lawmaker “has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”

Trump has endorsed the three other Republican members of Colorado’s congressional delegation — U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert, Jeff Crank and Gabe Evans — ahead of this year’s election.

In a statement posted to social media late Saturday, Hurd said he “will always put our communities first.”

“When I took office, I swore an oath to the Constitution and to the people I serve. Every vote I cast is guided by what is best for this district and the long-term strength of our country. Leadership requires independent judgment and the willingness to stand on principle,” Hurd said.

He added that he remains focused on “delivering results for rural Colorado” and intends to keep doing the job he was elected to do “with conviction, optimism, and a deep gratitude for the people I serve.”

The Grand Junction attorney and first-time candidate won election in 2024 by a 5-point margin in the Republican-leaning 3rd Congressional District, which covers most of the Western Slope and Southern Colorado, including Pueblo County and the San Luis Valley. In the same election, Trump carried the district by just under a 10-point margin.

Hurd had initially mounted a primary challenge against Boebert, who came close to losing the seat in the 2022 election, but she moved across the state to a safer district and won election to a third term.

This year, in addition to the primary challenge from Scheppelman, Hurd is facing Democrat Alex Kelloff, an entrepreneur and former finance executive from Old Snowmass.

Kelloff told Colorado Politics in a text message that he isn’t surprised by Trump’s “unendorsement” of Hurd, pointing to polling his campaign has conducted that Kelloff said shows the incumbent is unpopular among district voters.

“I do not have a primary competitor on the Democratic ticket and look forward to flipping this seat regardless of who is running for the GOP,” Kelloff said.

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib said Trump ditching the incumbent in a district that’s been competitive in recent cycles raises questions about the state GOP’s ability to help elect its candidates in the upcoming midterms.

“Between Trump pulling this endorsement and the continued infighting in the Colorado Republican Party, they are desperately lacking leadership and unity,” Murib said in a text message. “I don’t know why any elected Republican would trust their Party to build the type of infrastructure they need to win in tough seats at this point.”