Donald Trump has unleashed on a Republican lawmaker who is bucking Speaker Mike Johnson’s federal funding plan.
Johnson, in consultation with Trump, put forward a plan over the weekend that will provide enough cash for the government to stay open until September 30.
The House is expected to vote on the measure Tuesday afternoon, and its up in the air whether it will pass.
The speaker’s plan is called a continuing resolution (CR), and it effectively keeps government funding at the same levels it has been at since Joe Biden’s administration.
If a CR is not passed before Saturday, the federal government will partially shut down, meaning some agencies won’t reopen until Congress passes a funding bill.
Ahead of the vote on Tuesday morning, Vice President J.D. Vance met with House Republicans and reportedly warned them privately that if the shutdown ensues, the GOP will bear the brunt of the blame.
Publicly, though, Trump has been claiming that Democrats will bear the blame if the funding runs out.
But Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a staunch opponent of short-term funding bills who has voted against many CRs in the past, has said he will vote against the Trump-backed plan, prompting fury from the president.
‘Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic ‘NO’ vote on just about everything, despite the fact that he has always voted for Continuing Resolutions in the past,’ Trump said.
US Representative Thomas Massie talks to US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene prior to US President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress last week. Massie has said he will vote against Trump and Johnson’s government funding plan on Tuesday
Trump has been working with Speaker Mike Johnson to avoid a government shutdown in his first 100 days in office
‘HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him,’ the Republican president shockingly claimed, indicating he wants someone to run against Massie next year.
‘He’s just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight,’ the president continued on.
Then Trump delivered another blow to the Kentucky Republican.
‘He reminds me of Liz Chaney before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won’t stand for it, just watch. DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS???’
But Massie has shared he is against the CR because it does not meaningfully cut spending, a concern shared by hard-right conservatives.
‘I’m not voting for the Continuing Resolution budget (cut-copy-paste omnibus) this week,’ Massie posted on X over the weekend. ‘Why would I vote to continue the waste fraud and abuse DOGE has found?’
‘We were told the CR in December would get us to March when we would fight. Here we are in March, punting again!’
Massie has been so vehemently against stop-gap funding measures that he held a press conference in May 2024 to announce a motion to kick Johnson out of leadership.
Notably, the Kentuckian has voted against all five CRs Johnson has put forward since taking power in late October 2023.
His opposition this go around is no less problematic for the speaker and Trump.
Massie speaks at a press conference outside the Capitol Building announcing a motion to vacate Speaker Johnson in the House of Representatives in May 2024
Massie has voted against every CR that Johnson has put up for a vote
Despite Massie’s opposition, Johnson defended the Kentuckian from Trump’s call to primary him. He noted how Massie is a friend and how it he will be a difficult incumbent to beat and for any potential primary challenger
Since the speaker’s Republican majority in the House is so slim, 218 – 214, the party can only afford to lose two votes on Tuesday’s CR push.
Massie’s opposition puts Johnson and Trump in a precarious position because should just one more Republican vote no, they won’t have enough votes to get the spending bill passed.
And there are many Republicans who have expressed their distaste for the CR, including Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who said he expects a call from Trump to talk about his vote on the matter.
When asked at a Tuesday morning press conference if Massie should be primaried, as Trump suggested, Johnson came to the Kentuckian’s defense.
Massie is in ‘the incumbent protection program,’ Johnson shared, seemingly noting how difficult it would be to unseat the Republican.
On Monday Massie and Trump’s campaign manager Chris LaCivita also got into a spat.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives for a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Republicans met ahead of the House vote on a continuing resolution that will provide a six-month funding extension and avert a government shutdown
After posting his opposition to the funding bill, LaCivita responded ‘Tick tock Tommie,’ an indication that Massie’s days are numbered.
‘Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me,’ the lawmaker shot back.
‘Three times I’ve had a challenger who tried to be more MAGA than me. None busted 25% because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance.’
Massie has yet to address the claims made by Trump.
Massie, who wears a lapel pin that shows the U.S. debt ticking higher, has always been against CRs and is very outspoken about balancing the national budget.
Likeminded Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul noted he similarly believes that Congress should not pass another CR, saying ‘hell no!’
‘Despite DOGE’s findings of loony left-wing USAID programs, the Republican spending bill continues to fund the very foreign aid Elon Musk proposes to cut!’ he wrote in a post on social media.
‘The bill continues spending at the inflated pandemic levels and will add $2T to the debt this year. Count me as a hell no!’
Johnson has passed CR’s ever since he took power in Congress, and those spending levels were set by Democrats during a previous administration.
