Trump tears into Thomas Massie over CR opposition: 'HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED'

President Donald Trump lashed out at Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who said on Monday that he would vote against the GOP-led continuing resolution.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can afford to lose only one Republican vote on the CR given his party's historically narrow House majority. Democrats have also vowed to vote against the CR, leaving Johnson with the challenge of rallying every Republican behind the bill.

Massie, arguably the most principled fiscal conservative in Congress, already claimed the sole "no" vote the conference can spare, adding to the mounting pressure on Republicans. Trump, in turn, took to Truth Social to air his grievances.

'Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me.'

"Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic 'NO' vote on just about everything, despite the fact that he has always voted for Continuing Resolutions in the past," Trump said. "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," Trump added. "He reminds me of Liz Cheney before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won't stand for it, just watch."

While Trump's condemnation would have worked on most Republicans, Massie has been famously immune to the political pressures of GOP leadership, and that includes the president.

Behind the scenes, Republican leadership has been hustling to get the CR passed.

"Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election," Massie said. "Guess what? Doesn’t work on me. Three times I’ve had a challenger who tried to be more MAGA than me. None busted 25% because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance."

Massie is always considered an immovable "no" vote in every spending fight, leaving the rest of the Republican conference to sink or swim. Apart from Massie, several Republicans are still on the fence about Tuesday's CR vote, including Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Cory Mills of Florida, Tony Gonzales of Texas, Rich McCormick of Georgia, Beth Van Duyne of Texas, Kat Cammack of Florida, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

Despite some holdouts, Johnson is gunning for a repeat of February's reconciliation vote, where Republicans voted in lockstep to get the budget blueprint passed, with Massie as the only exception.

Behind the scenes, Republican leadership has been hustling to get the CR passed.

OMB Director Russ Vought met with members of the House Freedom Caucus and adjacent fiscal conservatives in early March to pitch the Trump-backed funding bill ahead of the vote, as Blaze News first reported. Trump also met with the same group 48 hours later in order to rally remaining Republican holdouts. As a result, the HFC officially endorsed the CR despite historically opposing CRs generally.

It's clear that Republicans are putting in the work. Now we will have to wait and see if it pays off.

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