Republican Rep. Tom Massie is daring allies of President Trump to major him as he refuses to assist a GOP-backed stopgap spending plan.
The proper-wing fiscal hawk insisted he received’t again right down to strain from the White Home to get on board with a short-term spending invoice that may avert a authorities shutdown as quickly as Friday.
“Someone thinks they can control (me) by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me,” Massie posted on X. “My constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance.”
The Kentucky conservative insists he received’t drop his opposition to spending payments that he says merely increase the nationwide debt, whether or not they’re put ahead by Democrats or Republicans.
Massie already voted in opposition to Trump’s greater price range plan to put the groundwork for giant tax cuts, saying that plan too would simply kick the nation’s debt downside down the street.
Trump himself slammed Massie, calling him “an automatic ‘NO’ vote on just about everything.”
“He should be primaried, and I will lead the charge against him.” Trump tweeted. “He’s just another grandstander, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight.”
“The people of Kentucky won’t stand for it, just watch,” Trump added. “Do I have any takers?”
Trump marketing campaign supervisor Chris LaCivita picked up the combat, tweeting that Massie “never faced me.”
“Stand by,” LaCivita warned.
Republicans maintain only a four-vote majority within the Home of Representatives, which means the GOP can afford to lose no a couple of GOP vote if Democrats vote in lockstep in opposition to the spending invoice.
Meaning if Massie sticks to his weapons, each different Republican would want to assist the invoice to permit it to go.
Massie, who represents a deep-red western Kentucky district, is a staunch fiscal conservative who objects on precept to stopgap spending payments and different payments that he derides as fiscal gimmicks.
A handful of different Republicans normally be a part of him in opposing the payments, even these fronted by Republican Home Speaker Mike Johnson. However practically the entire others have caved to MAGA strain and say they’ll vote for Trump’s plan this time.
