Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told reporters Tuesday following a spat with President Donald Trump over breaking party lines on a continuing resolution vote that it feels like 2020.
"It feels just like 2020 — March 27th, 2020 — when I was the only one to oppose the CARES Act [the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act]. The president threatened me. I got 81% of the vote. And then what happened? The spending bill caused all this massive inflation that we see now," Massie told reporters on the Capitol steps after the Republican-controlled House passed the continuing resolution.
Massie, who's drawn the ire in recent days from Trump, called out the president in a video posted to X, saying the spending bill did not represent "Trump's agenda."
"This is [former President Joe] Biden's spending agenda," he said. "This CR extends Biden spending levels until the end of the year — the Biden spending levels that he enjoyed the last 15 months of his presidency will now be locked in until Sept. 30."
He said the drama surrounding the bill is largely theater and that he expects Senate Democrats to support it.
Trump, in response to Massie's defiance, posted to Truth Social that he would "lead the charge" to primary Massie. But the high drama of the affair has so far only raised Massie's profile.
On Wednesday, Massie's campaign announced that he had received a large influx of campaign donations.
"Y'all sent $175,000 to my campaign in the last 36 hours! For the first time, my cash on hand is over $1,000,000," the campaign wrote on X. "It's a great start, but I'm going to need more if POTUS makes good on his threat to retaliate for my vote."
Massie told reporters Tuesday he isn't worried about his upcoming election, noting that it's a long way away.
On Tuesday, the Republican Jewish Coalition announced it would be backing a primary challenger against the congressman.
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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