{"id":11446662,"date":"2025-05-16T07:30:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T11:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11446662"},"modified":"2025-05-15T16:28:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T20:28:32","slug":"thomas-massie-republican-opposes-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/05\/16\/thomas-massie-republican-opposes-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharyl Attkisson: Republican opposes Trump on spending, says he’s ‘not bullied’"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s nobody quite like Republican Congressman Thomas Massie. His no-nonsense libertarian flair has made him a Kentucky fan favorite, but in Washington, D.C., he\u2019s dubbed “Mr. No.” And his contrarian ways have put him in President Donald Trump\u2019s crosshairs.<\/p>\n

Today, he\u2019s holding nothing back \u2014 calling out his over-spending colleagues and the corrupting ways of the swamp.<\/p>\n

“I think the uniparty here is on the same path they were on before President Trump was elected,” Massie told me in an interview.<\/p>\n

He frequently says the quiet part out loud \u2014 even when it\u2019s talking out of school about fellow Republicans, their House Leader Mike Johnson, the Trump agenda, and “the swamp.” In May of last year, he accused Johnson of “doing [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer and [former President] Joe Biden\u2019s bidding.”<\/p>\n

Massie made similar comments to me recently.<\/p>\n

“That’s the real untold story here, and I think we may be on a collision course,” Massie said. “Like, I think there’s three cars coming together at an intersection, and they don’t realize they\u2019re gonna hit. And one of them is Congress, with Mike Johnson driving \u2014 is in one of these cars. Trump obviously is one of these cars. Maybe he’s the train. And then there’s another car, which is DOGE. And I don’t think Elon Musk is gonna suffer these fools once he finds out how foolish they are, or duplicitous they are.”<\/p>\n

By “fools,” Massie said he was referring to Speaker Johnson.<\/p>\n

“He\u2019s the leader of the fools,” Massie said. “Anybody following him now is a fool as well… It’s a suicide pact to spend us into oblivion.”<\/p>\n

Massie\u2019s relationship with Trump is a Capitol Hill soap opera. In 2020, Trump branded him a “third-rate grandstander” and tried to oust him over forcing\u00a0an in-person vote during the COVID-19 pandemic, but later endorsed Massie for re-election. Massie endorsed Ron DeSantis in 2024, then switched to Trump.<\/p>\n

“I’ve had three conversations or interactions with the president in the last nine months,” Massie said. “One: He called and left condolences for my loss of my wife… And then I talked to him about two weeks before the election about endorsing him, which I ultimately did that same day… And then I talked to him two weeks after the election, roughly, about cabinet secretaries… Three great, positive interactions.”<\/p>\n

Massie said he spoke to Trump about the possibility of becoming Secretary of Agriculture, though he’s not sure if he ever was considered for the position.<\/p>\n

That was before Massie was the sole GOP \u201cno\u201d vote on two important Trump-backed bills that passed anyway: one on the budget, and the other on a spending bill that avoided a government shutdown. He said both were fiscally irresponsible.<\/p>\n

Trump lashed out on Truth Social, branding Massie a \u201cGRANDSTANDER\u201d and vowing to \u201clead the charge\u201d to get him defeated in his next election.<\/p>\n

“This is d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu,” Massie said. “He’s called me a \u2018grandstander\u2019 again. But this time he didn’t qualify it as \u2018third rate.\u2019 So I think I’m moving up in the world. But what people know about me is, if you attack me, I’m probably gonna dig in. You’re not gonna move me. I’m not bullied. I have no hard feelings toward the president. Sometimes he’s a bull in a China shop, and if a few of my dishes get broken, I’m okay.”<\/p>\n

\u201cFull Measure with Sharyl Attkisson\u201d airs at 10 a.m. Sunday, WJLA (Channel 7) and WBFF (Channel 45).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie is known in Washington, D.C. as “Mr. No.” And his contrarian ways have put him in Trump\u2019s crosshairs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":11198282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-05-16T11:31:28Z","apple_news_api_id":"363dee95-f1d4-4b9b-bd5d-6c8a1a6d491f","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-05-16T11:31:29Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ANj3ulfHUS5u9XWyKGm1JHw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[91,24758,85,93],"tags":[25302],"feature":[],"location":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[25622],"class_list":["post-11446662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-national-politics","category-news","category-politics","tag-fox45-news"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"93","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"Sharyl Attkisson","print_title":"Republican opposes Trump on spending, says he's 'not bullied'","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"inside","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1747368000","print_slug":"tbs-z-attkisson-0516","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"Republican Congressman Thomas Massie is known in Washington, D.C. as \"Mr. No.\" And his contrarian ways have put him in Trump\u2019s crosshairs.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"[caption id=\"attachment_11204686\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"310\"]\"Full Full Measure logo of Sharyl Attkisson show logo[\/caption]","print_content":"

There\u2019s nobody quite like Republican Congressman Thomas Massie. His no-nonsense libertarian flair has made him a Kentucky fan favorite, but in Washington, D.C., he\u2019s dubbed \"Mr. No.\" And his contrarian ways have put him in President Donald Trump\u2019s crosshairs.<\/p>

Today, he\u2019s holding nothing back \u2014 calling out his over-spending colleagues and the corrupting ways of the swamp.<\/p>

\"I think the uniparty here is on the same path they were on before President Trump was elected,\" Massie told me in an interview.<\/p>

He frequently says the quiet part out loud \u2014 even when it\u2019s talking out of school about fellow Republicans, their House Leader Mike Johnson, the Trump agenda, and \"the swamp.\" In May of last year, he accused Johnson of \"doing [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer and [former President] Joe Biden\u2019s bidding.\"<\/p>

Massie made similar comments to me recently.<\/p>

\"That's the real untold story here, and I think we may be on a collision course,\" Massie said. \"Like, I think there's three cars coming together at an intersection, and they don't realize they\u2019re gonna hit. And one of them is Congress, with Mike Johnson driving \u2014 is in one of these cars. Trump obviously is one of these cars. Maybe he's the train. And then there's another car, which is DOGE. And I don't think Elon Musk is gonna suffer these fools once he finds out how foolish they are, or duplicitous they are.\"<\/p>

By \"fools,\" Massie said he was referring to Speaker Johnson.<\/p>

\"He\u2019s the leader of the fools,\" Massie said. \"Anybody following him now is a fool as well... It's a suicide pact to spend us into oblivion.\"<\/p>

Massie\u2019s relationship with Trump is a Capitol Hill soap opera. In 2020, Trump branded him a \"third-rate grandstander\" and tried to oust him over forcing\u00a0an in-person vote during the COVID-19 pandemic, but later endorsed Massie for re-election. Massie endorsed Ron DeSantis in 2024, then switched to Trump.<\/p>

\"I've had three conversations or interactions with the president in the last nine months,\" Massie said. \"One: He called and left condolences for my loss of my wife... And then I talked to him about two weeks before the election about endorsing him, which I ultimately did that same day... And then I talked to him two weeks after the election, roughly, about cabinet secretaries... Three great, positive interactions.\"<\/p>

Massie said he spoke to Trump about the possibility of becoming Secretary of Agriculture, though he's not sure if he ever was considered for the position.<\/p>

That was before Massie was the sole GOP \u201cno\u201d vote on two important Trump-backed bills that passed anyway: one on the budget, and the other on a spending bill that avoided a government shutdown. He said both were fiscally irresponsible.<\/p>

Trump lashed out on Truth Social, branding Massie a \u201cGRANDSTANDER\u201d and vowing to \u201clead the charge\u201d to get him defeated in his next election.<\/p>

\"This is d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu,\" Massie said. \"He's called me a \u2018grandstander\u2019 again. But this time he didn't qualify it as \u2018third rate.\u2019 So I think I'm moving up in the world. But what people know about me is, if you attack me, I'm probably gonna dig in. You're not gonna move me. I'm not bullied. I have no hard feelings toward the president. Sometimes he's a bull in a China shop, and if a few of my dishes get broken, I'm okay.\"<\/p>

\u201cFull Measure with Sharyl Attkisson\u201d airs at 10 a.m. Sunday, WJLA (Channel 7) and WBFF (Channel 45).<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1747340946","print_workflow_exported_username":"Jay Judge","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"premium","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":11198282,"title":"Trump_Speech_89135","filename":"Trump_Speech_89135-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Trump_Speech_89135-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/03\/11\/congress-budget-spending-bill\/attachment\/11198282\/","alt":"Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.","author":"13","description":"Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., left, talks to Rep. 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