Thomas Massie faces GOP backlash for barter offer to Mike Johnson on key vote

President Donald Trump’s top Republican critic in the House of Representatives admitted in a recent interview that he once offered his vote to Republican leaders in exchange for a public expression of gratitude for his role in the forced release of the federal government’s Jeffrey Epstein files.

It’s a move that has drawn backlash from at least one of his fellow House Republicans and others on the right.

“Anyone using the victims of Epstein’s horrific sexual abuse to advance a political agenda or seek public recognition should seriously reconsider their work,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis.

In an interview with Politico earlier this week, Massie said he made the offer when the speaker approached him for support on a key vote.

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Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., arrives for a vote on the House floor February 3, 2026 in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“One day they needed my vote, and I offered to give them my vote if [Johnson] would issue a press release thanking me for my good work on the Epstein Files Transparency Act. That’s all I needed to get my vote. And I think he probably went and gave someone else a bill to pass instead of making a public statement,” Massie said.

He told Fox News Digital it was a test of whether Johnson would take responsibility for opposing his efforts to force the vote — but said Johnson refused.

“I wanted to see if the speaker would admit that it was a mistake to oppose the [bill]”But despite all the new revelations about the depraved and illegal activities of rich and powerful men, the speaker refused to acknowledge the success of the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” Massie said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

But the move also sparked backlash from others in the Republican social media sphere, sparking a civil war of sorts between Massie and Trump supporters.

“Campaign ad coming soon: Thomas Massie demands he be publicly praised to secure his vote in Congress,” right-wing influencer Ryan Saavedra wrote on X.

Sean Davis, founder of the conservative newspaper “The Federalist,” wrote on social media: “Damn. This is all really ego driven.”

Some defended him, however, such as an

Last year, Massie led a handful of Republicans to join Democrats in forcing consideration of the Epstein Files Transparency Act over the objections of House leaders and Trump, who argued the legislation did not provide sufficient protections for the identities of Epstein’s sex trafficking victims.

The bill sought to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release nearly all information about Epstein’s case, and Massie argued its language provided sufficient coverage for the late pedophile’s victims.

But Johnson and Trump both said they supported government transparency efforts but maintained they could not support Massie’s bill.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., walks with staff and his security detail. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

However, all House members except Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., ended up voting for the bill.

According to Matthew Green, a politics professor at the Catholic University of America, Massie’s request — and refusal — underscores how much Johnson depends on the president’s support.

Republicans currently hold just a one-vote majority in the chamber amid the recent resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and the sudden death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., both of which occurred in January. Republicans will likely regain a seat in March when Georgia holds a special election to fill Greene’s vacancy.

But until then, Johnson has fought against a razor-thin margin for error in adopting GOP-led priorities, a margin that Massie has systematically narrowed.

In this case, Green believes Massie was asking for something that would threaten one of the key elements holding the party together: Trump’s support.

“What he was really asking, in my opinion, was to illustrate how aligned Republican leadership is or should be with President Trump,” Green said.

“You know, just saying, ‘I support a bill,’ or ‘I think this bill is a good idea,’ you would think that would be a relatively harmless request, but with the Epstein files, the president said until the very end, ‘Don’t vote to release them,’ and the speaker agreed.”

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President Donald Trump pictured February 5, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

As the vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act approaches, Trump criticized the effort, calling on Massie to abandon his efforts and condemning the “Epstein Democrat hoax” in an article published in Truth Social.

It’s the president’s opposition to Massie’s campaign for transparency on Epstein that makes Green think the Kentucky lawmaker knew his demand wouldn’t be met.

“He knew the answer would be no,” Green said. “If Johnson said yes, it would not only go against what he himself has said about the bill, but it could also upset President Trump.”

Despite the unlikely nature of the request, Green thinks it’s remarkable that Massie is willing to negotiate.

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“What’s interesting, though, is that he suggests that he was actually willing to vote yes in exchange for something,” Green said.

Massie’s office did not respond to Van Orden’s statement regarding his ballot offer.