Cory Mills

Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-Fla.) is taking credit for the downfall of a colleague endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who is separately under investigation by the House Ethics Committee and Justice Department, lost his bid for a third term in Florida’s 7th Congressional District to Ryan Elijah, a former local television news reporter, Tuesday night.

Mills has faced a litany of controversies over the last year, including allegations of campaign finance violations and misconduct — among them, a protective restraining order after an ex-girlfriend accused him of threatening her over sexually explicit videos

The Florida congressman has denied any wrongdoing — and received an endorsement from Trump in February.

But despite the backing of the president and other House Republicans, Haridopolos told NOTUS in an interview released Wednesday that he worked on the inside to recruit a primary challenger against Mills.

Haridopolos said he was concerned Mills would pose a threat to the GOP’s ability to maintain its majority in the midterms come November.

“I’ve been involved in Florida politics for over 25 years and within a swing seat like that, if you don’t have a really solid candidate, in what could be a tough year for us, I knew it was an absolute loser,” Haridopolos said to NOTUS. “And we did not want to give away a seat when we’re trying to pick up seats and keep the majority.”

Haridopolos added that he believed “it was incumbent upon me” to find a Republican candidate to take on Mills.

“Ryan and I have always talked about him potentially running, and we’d had conversations and he was ready to step up and really make sure his community was well represented in Congress,” Haridopolos said. “And to his credit, he ran a really positive race and was willing to ask the tough questions.”

Haridopolos noted that congressional leadership knew about his efforts, saying they “understood the situation” as he attempted to convince his GOP colleagues to support Elijah. He only had one taker: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.).

“I have great relationships with my fellow members in the delegation, and I was just really candid with them,” Haridopolos said. “And I said, ‘Look, I’m just going to let you know I’m going to get involved in this race because I’m really concerned about the majority.’ And Anna came on board and did an amazing job helping out and really elevating the conversation.”

Following Mills’ primary loss, Trump took to his Truth Social platform Wednesday to say that he told the congressman to exit the race ahead of time.

“I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the Race, but he wouldn’t listen,” the president wrote in a post. “He thought he could win, so who can blame him?”

Trump immediately put his support behind Elijah, whom he said “stands for EVERYTHING MAGA, and is respected by ALL.”

Mills wasn’t the first Republican that Trump has distanced himself from following a defeat.