Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is finding few friends on Capitol Hill in his escalating feud with Donald Trump, with Republicans wary of taking sides against the powerful president.
As Massie has repeatedly bucked Trump on both his domestic and foreign policy agendas, Trump’s political team has launched a super PAC aimed at booting Massie, a seven-term congressman, out of office.
But most Republicans want little to do with what is likely to be a messy and pricey primary battle in Kentucky’s 4th District next year that pits their colleague against Trump world.
Asked Tuesday by NBC News whether he’d defend Massie in a primary, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called it the “hardest question I had this morning,” prompting some laughs from his leadership team standing behind him.
“I’m a leader of my party here, and the speaker leads the incumbent protection program. I got to make sure everybody gets re-elected,” Johnson said. But he also added that he “certainly understands the president’s frustration about the colleague you named, and he and I talk about that quite a bit.”
Other rank-and-file members echoed the sentiment. Rep. James Comer, Massie’s fellow Kentucky Republican, said: “I try to get along with my colleagues, but I sure want to get along with the president.”
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who fended off a MAGA-fueled primary challenger last year, said he’d rather steer clear of the fight.
“Teaming up to go against President Trump? Yeah, no, that doesn’t sound like a winning mission for me,” Gonzales said. “I’ll sit this one out, boys. You all let me know how it goes.”
And even Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio — who, like Massie, opposed Trump’s strikes on Iran over the weekend and his “big, beautiful bill” on the House floor last month — was careful not to choose sides.
“I like both of them,” Davidson said. “So I hope they get along better.”
The predicament is that while Republicans generally want to support a colleague who is coming under attack, they also see little upside to angering Trump.
In addition, Massie has long been a nuisance for Republican leaders in Congress. This year alone, he has voted against Johnson’s speakership bid, the party’s sweeping domestic policy package and a government funding bill. Now, he is still reserving the right to force a floor vote on a war powers resolution if the ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran doesn’t hold.
And his scorched-earth tactics in his fight with Trump aren’t helping him win over allies, either. On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance posted on X: “I wonder if other VPs had as much excitement as I do.”
Massie replied to the post: “Ask Mike Pence about his last month” — an apparent reference to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol when Trump supporters called for Pence to be hanged.
So far, Massie’s most vocal supporter in the GOP is Sen. Rand Paul, another Kentucky Republican who has also been a thorn in Trump’s side.
“He’s the most faithful to the Constitution of any of the members of the House. He’s fiscally conservative, and I think he cares a lot about Kentucky,” Paul said of Massie. “And I think that’s what they’ll remember when they vote for him.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign arm, typically doesn’t get involved in primaries, but it has resources available for incumbents. Outside groups like the Congressional Leadership Fund could get involved in primaries if they choose, but they tend to spend their resources on battleground races that will determine the House majority. It’s also not unusual for individual lawmakers to chip in donations to colleagues in tough races.
Massie sounded unbothered by Johnson’s lack of commitment to supporting him. “Whether he’s for me or against me, the results are probably the same,” he said.
For the libertarian-minded Massie, being on an island — and the subject of Trump’s attacks — is nothing new.
Trump encouraged a primary challenge to Massie in 2020 after he voted against a Covid relief package, but a serious contender never emerged. Massie that year handily defeated a GOP primary opponent who tried to align himself with Trump, even though Trump didn’t make an endorsement, a victory that Massie argued gave him “Trump antibodies” in his solidly red district. Trump even went on to endorse Massie for re-election two years later.
Massie told NBC News that some of his recent “sassy with Massie” social media posts about Trump have earned him some private fist bumps from Republicans.
Massie has also sought to capitalize financially off of Trump’s attacks, saying that over the last 24 hours, he has raised $140,000 from 1,648 donors.
While Massie sounded confident he could go up against Trump, he also acknowledged he’d prefer not to have Trump pouring in resources against him. Asked whether he sees an off-ramp to the feud, he quipped: “I’m looking for a ceasefire.”
So far, only one Republican — Niki Lee Ethington — has filed to run in the primary in the 4th District. According to her campaign website, Ethington is a registered nurse who graduated in 2021 and hasn’t held public office.
Republicans think that if Trump continues to make him a top target and is able to recruit a formidable challenger, it could be a problem for Massie.
“His endorsement is going to make or break you in the Republican Party,” said Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla. “It’s about his trust and who he wants to partner with.”
Asked whether he was committed to running for re-election, Massie suggested he was dug in: “If they would just quit hitting me, I might get bored and give up, but I am not going to lose. I do not lose.”
