President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform late Monday night to vent his frustration with Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who dared to vote against a Trump-backed continuing resolution.
The bill, intended to keep the government funded through September, has sparked a firestorm within the GOP, with Massie standing alone as the principled contrarian refusing to toe the party line.
Trump compared Massie to former Representative Liz Cheney and called for a primary challenge, signaling a shift in his crusade from draining the swamp to targeting America-First Republicans with an unshakable backbone.
Massie, known for his unshakeable commitment to limited government and fiscal responsibility, explained his vote with a clarity that’s rare in the halls of Congress.
“I’m not voting for the Continuing Resolution budget this week,” he posted on X. “Why would I vote to continue the waste, fraud, and abuse DOGE has found?” His reference to the Department of Government Efficiency, recently championed by Trump allies, underscores his argument that the bill locks in Biden-era spending levels, leaving little room for the cuts he believes are essential.
Trump’s response was tone-deaf, posted just hours after the House Freedom Caucus endorsed the resolution.
“Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic ‘NO’ vote on just about everything,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him.”
The outburst marks a notable evolution for Trump, who once vowed to dismantle the entrenched bureaucracy but now appears laser-focused on Republicans who refuse to bend to his will.
Massie prioritizes transparency and principle over party loyalty, a trait that’s earned him both admiration and ire. He’s consistently opposed bloated spending bills, even when it meant bucking Trump’s agenda, like the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package in 2020 that drew similar presidential wrath.
Back then, Trump labeled him a “third-rate Grandstander” and urged the GOP to expel him, yet Massie coasted to reelection, proving his constituents value his independence.
The current spat revolves around a bill that Massie argues fails to deliver on promises of fiscal reform.
“If it passes this week, the CR obligates Trump to spend the same amounts of money on generally the same things Biden spent money on in his last 15 months in office,” he posted on X, highlighting the lack of commitment to rescind wasteful expenditures later.
It’s a stance that clashes with Trump’s newfound enthusiasm for a “clean” funding measure, which he praised as a way to “buy some time” to Make America Great Again.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, caught in the crossfire, has pushed the resolution as a necessary stopgap, but Massie remains unmoved.
“We were told the CR in December would get us to March when we would fight,” he wrote on X. “Here we are in March, punting again!” The dig at GOP leadership underscores his frustration with a party he sees as too eager to compromise, a sentiment that’s made him a hero to libertarians and a thorn in the side of establishment figures.
Trump’s comparison of Massie to Liz Cheney, who lost her seat after criticizing the former president, suggests a deeper rift within the GOP. “He reminds me of Liz Chaney [sic] before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!),” Trump posted, misspelling Cheney’s name.
Cheney’s ouster came after she broke ranks over January 6, while Massie’s defiance stems from a consistent ideology that predates Trump’s political rise.
Political analysts note that Massie’s principles have kept him afloat despite past primary threats. In 2020, after Trump and GOP leaders backed his challenger, Todd McMurtry, Massie crushed the opposition with 88% of the vote. His district, a deep-red swath of northern Kentucky, seems to reward his refusal to bow to pressure, even from a president beloved by its voters.
Trump’s shift from swamp-drainer to party enforcer raises eyebrows. Once a champion of outsiders challenging the status quo, he now targets a lawmaker whose independence embodies that very spirit. Massie, unfazed, responded on X to a taunt from Trump adviser Chris LaCivita:
“Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me.”
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