## Who is Thomas Massie? Trump lashes out at House Republicans’ squeaky wheel

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has said no too many times for President  liking. The Kentucky Republican makes no qualms about breaking from his party or its leader, having been the lone Republican “no” in multiple votes, including Speaker Mike Johnson’s  in January.

In keeping with his own tradition, Massie says he is a firm “no” on this latest spending bill, which House Republican leadership put forward over the weekend and the chamber will take up for a vote Tuesday afternoon. Congress will need to pass this or similar legislation to keep the government funded and operating past Friday.

“Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years,” Massie said in a post on X Sunday, “I’ll be a NO on the CR this week.”

Asked if he would support Massie for reelection in 2026, Johnson declined to clearly back the president's call.

“Look, I’m in the incumbent protection program here,” Johnson said in press conference Tuesday morning. “I consider Thomas Massie a friend. He’s a thoughtful guy. I guess he’ll tell you he’s doing what he thinks is right on this. I just vehemently disagree.”

Massie could have company in the opposition, according to a source close to the House. If Massie stays a "no," Johnson cannot afford to lose any other member of his caucus.

And while the Kentucky congressman appears to be the most set in his opposition, other House Republicans have floated their own concerns about the speaker’s spending bill. For example, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told USA TODAY Monday that he “honestly thinks that all hummingbirds go to my neighbor’s garden,” and that Mr. Trump is “just another Grandstander,” as well as “disaster for America.”

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