The shutdown widened the rift between Trump and Rep. Thomas Massie, a libertarian-leaning congressman who defied the president

Donald Trump and Mike Johnson succeeded in passing their proposal to avoid the government shutdown in the House of Representatives. After arduous weeks of negotiations, they managed to unite all but one House Republican. That was Thomas Massie (R-KY), who, with his no vote, climbed several positions on the president's enemies list on Capitol Hill.

Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican who has been in Congress for more than a decade, is a regular critic of anything that involves increasing federal government spending at the expense of taxpayers. Indeed, he often carries a federal debt counter in his coat, which reports the average debt per second. The congressman calls it his "anxiety generator" for those around him.

On this ideological basis, Massie had already anticipated that he would vote against the Continuing Resolution (CR) backed by Trump and Johnson, arguing that it "extends the last year of Biden’s agenda at substantially the same spending levels." Of course, this didn't sit well with the president, who has already vowed to lead the crusade to exile the D.C. congressman.

"Massie reminds me of Liz Cheney before her historic loss

In the days leading up to the vote, Massie criticized the CR repeatedly, making it clear there was no way to convince him to vote for it. This in itself is an annoyance for Trump and Johnson, given that Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the lower House, where they can't afford to lose more than one Republican.

"I’m not voting for the Continuing Resolution budget (cut-copy-paste omnibus) this week. Why would I vote to continue the waste fraud and abuse DOGE has found? We were told the CR in December would get us to March when we would fight. Here we are in March, punting again!", the Kentucky Republican wrote on his X account.

Trump lashed out at Massie on the same day the House Freedom Caucus anticipated supporting the CR.

"Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic 'NO' vote on just about everything, despite the fact that he has always voted for Continuing Resolutions in the past. HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him. He’s just another GRANDSTANDER who’s too much trouble and not worth the fight. He reminds me of Liz Cheney before her historic, record-breaking fall (loss!)", he noted on Truth Social.

A day later, the president went further and dedicated an entire post to the Kentucky Republican, who arrived in Congress in 2012.

"Now, and virtually on every other vote, he’s a very simple, 'NO'. He can’t even approve a Continuing Resolution when he approved them many times during his career as a “Congressman.” Thomas Massie is a GRANDSTANDER, and the Great People of Kentucky are going to be watching a very interesting Primary in the not too distant future!", added Trump.

Asked about Trump's attacks on Massie, Johnson tried to tone down the crossovers a bit, describing the congressman as "a friend," adding that he hopes to "keep incumbents" in the 2026 election.

Trump and Massie's turbulent relationship

Although Trump endorsed Massie in previous elections, this is not the first clash between the two.

Their first clash was in 2020, when the Kentuckian forced his House colleagues to return to DC to vote in person on a Covid-19 response bill, something that at the time drew the president's ire.

"Looks like a Third-rate Grandstander named Thomas Massie, a Congressman from, unfortunately, a truly GREAT State, Kentucky, wants to vote against the new Save Our Workers Bill in Congress. He just wants the publicity," he posted on what was then Twitter.

Massie recently recalled that moment during an interview with Tucker Carlson, detailing that Trump called him on the phone while on the House floor. As he recalled through an interesting imitation of the president's voice, Trump threatened to endorse a candidate against him in the primary, reminding him that he would surely lose.

Ultimately, Massie was re-elected in 2020 and even got Trump's endorsement for the 2022 midterm elections.

"Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Doesn’t work on me"

Massie was quick to respond to Trump for his attacks, giving the impression that he's not worried about being in the president's crosshairs, something few Republicans have survived politically.

"POTUS is spending his day attacking me and Canada. The difference is Canada will eventually cave," he noted in X, adding that he has been consistent with his voting line over the years.

At the same time, he welcomed Trump's election threats with open arms: "Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me. Three times I’ve had a challenger who tried to be more MAGA than me. None busted 25% because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance."