President Donald Trump is promising to “lead the charge” to remove Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) after he announced he would not support the GOP’s short-term government funding bill. This bill is crucial to prevent a government shutdown, which is set to happen on Friday.
Trump posted a message on Truth Social late Monday, thanking the House Freedom Caucus for supporting the bill and Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) efforts to keep the government running. He also criticized Massie, calling for him to face a primary challenge.
“Thank you to the House Freedom Caucus for just delivering a big blow to the Radical Left Democrats and their desire to raise Taxes and SHUT OUR COUNTRY DOWN! They hate America and all it stands for. That’s why they allowed MILLIONS of Criminals to invade our Nation. Sometimes it takes great courage to do the right thing. 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. HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him,” Trump wrote.
Trump then compared Massie to former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who served on the committee investigating the January 6 attack and was censured by the Republican National Committee. Trump had supported Cheney’s primary challenger in 2022.
“He’s just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight. 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??? Anyway, thank you again to the House Freedom Caucus for your very important vote. We need to buy some time in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. Unite and Win!!!” Trump added.
Massie has often disagreed with his party on fiscal issues and has been skeptical about passing the stopgap funding bill.
“Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me,” Massie wrote on X before Trump’s post.
“Three times I’ve had a challenger try to be more MAGA than me,” Massie continued. “None of them got more than 25% because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind loyalty.”
