Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is not currently serving on the powerful House Rules Committee because he was the only Republican to vote against Speaker Mike Johnson in the House leadership race.
“I offered to resign if the chairman wanted to put someone else on the rules committee, and he took that option,” Massey said. “This is because I voted against him. This is not retaliation,” he posted on X.
“I look forward to continuing my work on the Judiciary Committee and the Transportation Committee.”
The Rules Committee has influence over which bills come to the House for a vote. Mr. Massey, a hardline liberal, voluntarily resigned from the committee after opposing Mr. Johnson's bid for chair because Mr. Johnson relied on Democratic support to pass major spending bills. said.
Massey holds speaker's gavel to challenge Johnson
Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is seen outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
But Massey's uncompromising positions have often isolated him from the rest of the Republican conference. “Ninety-eight percent of the conference wanted Massey taken out of the rules,” one Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital.
The House Republican Conference met behind closed doors Tuesday morning to vote on the new committee members. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, replaced Massey on the Rules Committee.
Massey drops colorful metaphor against foreign aid, mocks Johnson with AI-generated image
House Judiciary Committee members Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Rep. Thomas Massey (R-Kentucky) speak with Merrick in front of the committee at the Rayburn House Office Building in the U.S. Capitol on June 4, 2024. Hear testimony from Attorney General Garland. in washington d.c. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Additionally, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-Texas), former chair of the Education and Labor Committee, will lead the committee following the retirement of Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas).
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pennsylvania), vice chairman of the House Republican Party, was also removed from the committee and replaced by newcomer Rep. Brian Jack (R-Ga.).
Thomas Massey, conservative commentators speak out against President Trump's Dean nomination
Massie opposed Mike Johnson's re-election as Speaker of the House. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
As part of an agreement with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in January 2023, Mr. Massey signed a contract with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R.C.). ) was appointed to the Rules Committee for the first time. Expanding conservative representation – part of a broader compromise package that helped Mr. McCarthy win the short-lived House speakership.
The House Rules Committee is the final step in introducing the bill before a vote in the full House. Committees and their chairs are responsible for determining the terms of debate on the bill and whether to vote on any proposed amendments.
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After a bill passes the House Rules Committee, a “rules vote” of the entire House is held to allow for discussion of the bill before a vote for final passage.
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
