Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has declared that he will not vote for House Speaker Mike Johnson to retain the speakership next year.
“He doesn't have my vote,” Massey told CNN's Manu Raju. Asked if he would change his mind, Massey said it would take a “Christmas miracle”.
Earlier this year, Mr. Massey supported Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's push to remove Mr. Johnson from the speakership, but ultimately a majority of members of both parties voted in favor of accelerating the removal effort. I cast it.
Conservatives revolt over government funding plan, with Johnson facing rival speakership
“This is a new paradigm in Congress. Nancy Pelosi and most Republicans voted to retain Unionist Party Chairman Mike Johnson,” Massey tweeted at the time.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week argued in favor of a more than 1,500-page government spending plan that could avert the imminent prospect of a partial government shutdown.
In an interview on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, Johnson said the spending package would resolve government funding issues until March, when Republicans take control of Congress and the White House, and that Republicans “will decide on spending in 2025.” He said it would be possible.
The measures also included disaster relief funds and farmer-related aid.
“Disaster relief and agricultural aid are not 'pork.' It's called governance. It's what we were all elected to do,” Rep. Greg Murphy (RN.C.) posted on X declared.
Massey drops colorful metaphor against foreign aid, mocks Johnson with AI-generated image
Left: Congressman Thomas Massey (R-Ky.) is seen outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. Right: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., after the Republican Party meeting on Dec. 17, 2024. (Left: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, Getty Images; Right: ALLISON ROBBERT/AFP, Getty Images)
But conservatives slammed the proposal, with Elon Musk speaking out against it.
President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance echoed the sentiment, calling in a statement to pass a “streamlined spending bill that doesn't give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.”
“Republicans want to help farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a stopgap funding bill and debt without aid from Democrats.” “In combination with raising the cap. Anything else is a betrayal of our country…” they said in a statement.
Trump, Musk face conservative outrage over spending bill, House Republican leaders scramble over Plan B
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) speaks at a campaign event for Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at McDivot Indoor Sports Pub in Grimes, Iowa, on January 7, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Massey mocked Johnson this week by sharing an AI-generated image depicting a speaker holding a hose while a house burns in the background.
“US foreign aid spending is like watering your neighbor's garden while your house is on fire,” he declared in a tweet and shared the image.
