The Republican who Mike Johnson can't ever count on
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Rep. Thomas Massie speaks to reporters about the Epstein files outside Justice Department offices in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 9. Photo: Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-Ky.) willingness to buck the party line has become so routine that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) doesn't even factor him into the equation for tough votes.
Why it matters: Johnson's majority now stands at 218-214, meaning he can lose only one GOP member on party-line issues. Massie is rarely part of the majority.
- "What's my incentive to vote for anything?" Massie said to Axios recently. And asked by Axios on Wednesday if Johnson had his back, Massie replied, "No."
- Just this week, Massie was one of three Republicans to vote to end a blockade on challenging President Trump's tariffs, got into a heated exchange with Attorney General Pam Bondi, and was the only Republican to vote against the rule for the SAVE America Act. (He objected to the rule language.)
- "He's an automatic 'no,' no matter what," Trump said this week, referring to Massie's frequent opposition to GOP-backed legislation and policies.
Driving the news: Massie routinely votes against procedural rule measures — once a rubber stamp for the majority party — effectively shrinking Johnson's margin to zero on party-line votes.
- The Kentucky Republican was one of just two GOP lawmakers to oppose Trump's signature "big, beautiful bill."
- He also led the push to release the Epstein files, defying Trump and party leadership.
- Bondi called Massie a "failed politician" during a heated exchange at a Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) didn't defend him.
Zoom out: Trump's political operation has launched an aggressive effort to unseat Massie — its first bid to defeat a sitting Republican incumbent this cycle.
- Trump frequently attacks Massie on Truth Social and last week called him a "moron."
- "If Trump quit attacking me, and Mike Johnson said the best things about me, there'll still be millions of dollars spent against me," Massie told Axios in the Capitol on Wednesday.
- But, Massie added, "if they quit attacking me, I might not be able to raise money," noting he raised half a million dollars online in January alone.
The intrigue: GOP leaders often don't bother even whipping his vote, viewing the effort as futile.
- "There's really nothing in [Johnson's] pay grade that he could do," Massie said when asked if there's any way Johnson could get his vote. "The speaker is going to do whatever the president wants; he has to."
- Johnson has described himself as running an "incumbent protection program," but has neither endorsed Massie nor offered much public support.
The other side: "I have the back of every House Republican," Johnson told Axios in an interview at the Capitol on Wednesday, adding, "It would be helpful if Thomas would play with the team more."
- Asked about whether he planned to endorse Massie, Johnson replied, "If he continues to vote with the Democrats, it makes it very difficult for me."
Yes, but: Massie has had a major influence over the party.
- His pressure campaign on the Epstein files forced the issue into the mainstream, and the sustained attention he receives from Trump underscores that influence.
- "If they want Republicans who are true fiscal conservatives, against war, care about things like the Epstein files, which I believe is at least 30% of Republicans nationwide, I'm the guy making the tent big enough to fit those folks in," Massie told Axios.
- "I think they're actually going to shrink their own majority if they try to force somebody like me out," he added.
