Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) remains staunchly opposed to supporting Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker, despite an endorsement from Donald Trump and pressure from members of the House Republican conference.
“I don’t know how to say this without cussing,” Massie told the Wall Street Journal Thursday when asked if he would bend to pressure from his fellow Republicans and fall in line. “If they thought I had no Fs to give before, I definitely have no Fs to give now.”
Trump endorsed Johnson earlier this week in a post on Truth Social calling him a “good, hard working, religious man,” adding, “he will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN.”
Massie indicated that Trump’s endorsement does not change his position on Johnson.
“Even if he thinks he’s going to be the guy who does what Trump wants him to do — he’s not that good at it,” Massie said pointing to Johnson’s failure to get House Republicans to support Trump’s call to raise the debt ceiling.
“He [Johnson] lacked either the situational awareness or the bravery to tell Trump that it wasn’t doable,” Massie said.
So far, the Kentucky Republican is the only member of the GOP House conference who has publicly said he will not support Johnson. But, there are at least four other Republicans—Reps. Chip Roy, Andy Harris, Victoria Spartz, and Rich McCormick—who have refused to commit to supporting Johnson.
With a razor-thin majority in the next Congress, Johnson cannot afford to lose more than one Republican vote for Speaker, if every member is present and votes for a candidate.
The election for the new speaker is set to take place on Friday.
