Choosing the next speaker of the House could hinge on the political persuasion of one Republican – Kentucky’s U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie. But, he’ll need to find a political ally soon, someone who is equally unafraid to oppose President-elect Donald Trump and the rest of the Republican party.
Trump has endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican. repeatedly over the past few weeks, most recently at a New Year’s Eve party in Mar-a-Lago. But Massie won’t cast a vote for Johnson.
“I’ve decided that life is too short to play along with fake fights and to play along and take votes that people know are wrong,” Massie told The Enquirer in an interview Thursday. “Almost all of my colleagues know that Mike Johnson is not equipped to be speaker, but nobody wants to say the emperor has no clothes.”
Republicans start the session with a slim majority in the House – 219 to Democrats’ 215 – and Johnson can only afford to lose one vote if he wants to be reelected undefined
Massie, 53, said Thursday he’ll be that one vote Jan. 3, though, he’s not sure if any other Republicans will join him.
Massie plans to vote for someone other than Johnson for Speaker of the House on Jan. 3. But he won’t say who as of Thursday.
Why does Massie oppose Johnson?
Massie’s opposition to Johnson is deeply rooted, but he’s narrowed his objection to his colleague down to four main points:
Massie was among a group of Republicans who sided with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, when she tried and failed to oust Johnson as speaker in May. Massie said, “Most Republican speakers when they don’t have enough votes … they would resign.” Instead Johnson “partnered with Democrats” to squash the motion to vacate so that he could remain speaker.
Johnson supported $61 billion in aid to Ukraine this spring. Massie said the spending was “opposite of the mandate that Trump was elected on.”
Johnson supported a controversial government surveillance bill that Massie said allows the government to “spy on Americans domestically.” He not only voted in favor of the bill, but Massie said Johnson, “architected the way it was debated and brought to the floor so that it would pass.”
Massie, who has been known to wear a debt ticker clock on his lapel, opposed the stopgap government spending bill Johnson supported, both the long version at more than 1,500 pages and the shorter 100-page version of the bill that was passed just before Christmas.