President Trump is calling for Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to be primaried over the Congressman’s refusal to support a short term continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through September 30.
In a post on Truth Social, the president thanked members of the House Freedom Caucus for advancing the CR to be voted on before Friday’s deadline but had harsh words for Massie’s refusal to support the bill because it maintains federal funding at current levels without considering budget cuts.
Trump called out Massie for being “an automatic ‘NO’ vote on just about everything” and called for the Republican Congressman to be primaried, saying:
HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him. He’s just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight. He reminds me of Liz Chaney [sic] before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won’t stand for it, just watch. DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS???
Massie has been a vocal opponent to any CR that continues to fund federal waste and fraud uncovered by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the same levels it was funded in 2024.
The Kentucky Congressman, in a post on X, wrote, “If it passes this week, the CR obligates Trump (from now until September) to spend the same amounts of money on generally the same things Biden spent money on in his last 15 months in office. We could pass recisions later to undo some things, but there’s no commitment to do so.”
Expressing frustration that the GOP is refusing to act on the mandate given to it by voters in November and simply punting the opportunity to cut spending, Massie stated:
The argument for CR in September 2024 was to fight in December 2024 after the election. The argument for CR in December 2024 was to fight in March 2025 after the inauguration. The argument for CR in March 2025 is to fight in September 2025 because… we’re not ready yet ?!?!
This is not the first time Trump has come after Massie for refusing to support a funding bill.
In 2020, when Massie attempted to force a recorded vote rather than a voice vote over a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill, Trump accused him of grandstanding and seeking publicity.
Massie was the sole dissenting Republican vote last month on a GOP budget plan that he said would add another $20 trillion to the U.S. debt.
While Massie’s opposition to the CR has drawn ire from President Trump, it also has prompted respect from some GOP lawmakers including Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) who praised Massie’s effort to curb government spending, saying, “He might vote differently on this matter than most, but if he does so he’ll have a really good reason.”
I understand Rep. Massey’s stance and I don’t disagree with him – in theory. But the reality is that time is not on the administration’s side here; things have to be done, and quickly, if the agenda on which Trump was elected is to be enacted and if the historical trend of the Congress majority flipping to the party no holding the WH is to have an chance of being bucked. Also, DOGE wasn’t going to have a huge impact on this year’s spending; where it can have the biggest impact is in what will receive funding next year.