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(WASHINGTON) — Get. Thomas Massie has always gone his salvage advance in Congress, ever since he first ran for situation of enterprise impressed by a fellow libertarian-leaning Kentuckian, Rand Paul.
Now in his fourth term, the Republican from northern Kentucky has many times voted no on points substantial and cramped, even in opposition to the needs of GOP leaders.
He did it yet again Friday by making an try to force a roll name vote on the sweeping$2.2 trillion coronavirus support kit— essentially the most convenient member of Congress willing to stall, if now not block, the historic guidelines.
Whereas his effort failed, Massie’s slip compelled hundreds of lawmakers to attain to the Capitol after a almost two-week recess — potentially exposing them to the coronavirus and contradicting the needs of public neatly being experts who salvage urged People to retain a stable social distance from one one other to lead sure of exacerbating the pandemic.
No longer even stress from GOP leaders — and tweets by President Donald Trump calling Massie a “third-charge Grandstander” — had been ample to knock the 49-twelve months-customary Massie off the mission he has pursued since winning situation of enterprise in 2012: to abide by the Structure and to now not overspend federal dollars.
Trump called Massie “a anguish for The US, and for the Mountainous Divulge of Kentucky!” and urged GOP leaders to “throw Massie out of Republican Occasion!”
Massie mentioned his question for a recorded vote was once “to design sure our republic doesn’t die by unanimous consent in an empty chamber.”
In a series of tweets Friday, Massie mentioned he swore an oath to uphold the Structure and takes it severely. The Structure requires that a quorum of people be most as much as date to conduct enterprise in the Home, he mentioned, noting that hundreds of thousands of People are restful required to lunge to work for the length of the pandemic, including neatly being care workers and these on manufacturing traces.
“Is it too great to ask that the Home create its job, acceptable bask in the Senate did?” he mentioned, including that the invoice was once “stuffed fats” of pork added by Democrats. He pointed to $25 million for the Kennedy Heart for the Performing Arts in Washington and grants for the National Endowment for the Humanities and Arts.
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The circulation — and Trump’s rebuke — may per chance per chance per chance bog down Massie’s reelection possibilities. He is going through a interesting 2020 major trouble from Todd McMurtry, an attorney who represented a Kentucky student who turned embroiled in media lawsuits after a viral stumble upon with a Native American activist in Washington, D.C., in early 2019.
Frustrated and offended Home lawmakers additionally lashed out at Massie.
”Because of the one Member of Congress refusing to allow emergency slip whole Congress ought to restful be called support to vote in Home,” Get. Pete King, R-N.Y., tweeted early Friday. “Threat of an infection and threat of guidelines being delayed. Disgraceful. Irresponsible.”
Get. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., called Massie’s threats “an act of arrogance and selfishness that goes previous comprehension. … The truth that he would build other folks which may per chance be in wretchedness .. in converse to meet his arrogance is a moderately pathetic reflection on his character.”
Massie, trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Skills, received his originate in nationwide politics inserting up campaign indicators for Paul’s renegade hasten a decade previously. He went on to take into yarn situation of enterprise himself modeled after Paul and his cramped government, constitutional conservatism advance.
Relaxed-spoken yet stubborn, Massie has received a status as a deficit hawk and staunch gun-rights supporter willing to lunge his salvage advance in Congress, despite the truth that it design bucking his salvage birthday party. Massie was once amongst a handful of Republicans to vote for a Democratic-backed resolution inserting ahead that Trump must take into yarn congressional approval earlier than partaking in extra militia slip in opposition to Iran.
He stands up to now to the correct of his Home colleagues that he declined to join the then-budding Home Freedom Caucus, the put tea birthday party Republicans salvage pushed for smaller government and conservative beliefs. His situation of enterprise has been decorated alongside with his patents as an inventor — he lives in a largely off-the-grid home he built himself — and additionally a digital clock of the nation’s debt load.
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Like Trump, Massie makes thunder of Twitter to prod his colleagues alongside, occasionally signing off his tweets #SassyMassie. He took Trump’s jabs in bolt Friday, joking that he was once now not decrease than “second charge” as a grandstander.
Home leaders introduced up the support kit on a voice vote, that design it would circulation with people calling out either “aye” or “nay,” but the diagram lets in for any one lawmaker to ask for a recorded vote. Massie did so but was once unable take care of shut ample improve amongst Home people to override the voice vote. The invoice now goes to Trump for his signature.
Massie mentioned later there was once a “duvet-up” byHome Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Republican chief Kevin McCarthy and others who didn’t want a recorded vote, even supposing they knew they’d take care of shut. “The truth, ought to you’re willing to file it, is that they don’t want a recorded vote,” he informed journalists initiate air the Capitol. ”They don’t are seeking to be on file of constructing the top probably mistake in history.”
Pelosi, who spoke with McCarthy and Massie earlier than he took the bottom, mentioned she and other leaders informed Massie, “Why don’t you acceptable support off? Roam to the bottom, design the top probably speech that it’s probably you’ll per chance per chance perchance … on the technique or the coverage or whatever it’s. But don’t design it retract longer to salvage this performed.”
Massie voted for the well-known coronavirus reduction measure in early March, but overlooked the vote for a second measure on March 14. He informedThe Cincinnati Enquirerhe would salvage voted no if he’d been in Washington for the rationale that invoice may per chance per chance per chance build cramped companies “out of enterprise.”
Kentucky’s major election, on the whole in unhurried Would perchance per chance even fair, was once pushed support to June 23 thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Massie’s possibilities may per chance be struggling from the scathing Twitter assault from Trump, who stays accepted in Kentucky.
McMurtry, a staunch Trump supporter, has kept up trusty assaults in opposition to Massie since getting into the slip, and he slammed Massie’s opposition to the $2 trillion-plus coronavirus-reduction kit as one other signal that the incumbent is out of touch alongside with his district.
“Thomas Massie is inserting his salvage selfish agenda earlier than the wants of our healthcare suppliers, cramped companies and piquant working People,” McMurtry mentioned Friday, calling Massie “a humiliation to Kentucky and the Republican Occasion.”
Trump’s social media diatribe in opposition to Massie may per chance per chance per chance conclude up overshadowing the spring campaign, ramping up McMurtry’s major threat, mentioned Republican strategist Scott Jennings. “Trump’s intervention has overwhelmed other GOP incumbents, and it for sure may per chance per chance per chance on this district, too,” Jennings mentioned.
Massie’s actions additionally drew the wrath of former Secretary of Divulge John Kerry, a Democrat who sparred with Massie final twelve months. Seeking to undermine Kerry’s testimony on climate trade, Massie questioned Kerry’s “science degree” from Yale. Kerry explained it was once in actuality a Bachelor of Arts in political science. ”How create you salvage a Bachelor of Arts in a science?” Massie requested, including: “I contemplate it’s barely of acceptable that someone with a pseudoscience degree is right here pushing pseudoscience in entrance of our committee as of late.’ ‘
Kerry requested Massie if he was once serious: “This is completely taking place right here?”
Kerry received his revenge Friday, the usage of a low term to list Massie on Twitter, including that he and Trump in some arrangement agreed on one thing: their mutual disdain for Massie. Trump returned the compliment, tweeting he “by no design knew John Kerry had this form of fair humorousness! Very impressed!”
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Associated Presswriters Padmananda Rama and Laurie Kellman in Washington and Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Ky., contributed to this file.
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