Massie bucks GOP leadership again on Adam Schiff censure vote, draws conservative ire
Conservatives are conveying anger with northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie over his vote to oppose a resolution censuring California Rep. Adam Schiff, a favorite boogeyman of Republicans.
Massie joined 19 other House Republicans in defecting from party leadership from condemning Schiff for championing the investigatory onslaught against former President Donald Trump. Combined with unanimous Democratic opposition, the measure failed, surprising even Schiff.
The libertarian-leaning Massie claimed the resolution was unconstitutional for a clause that instructed Schiff should be fined $16 million if the House Ethics Committee found he “lied, made representations and abused sensitive information.”
“Allowing a majority of Congress to take $16 million (92 years of pay) from any member of Congress is shortsighted,” Massie tweeted again of the Wednesday evening vote. “Can we not imagine a time when this precedent would be used against conservatives? Fortunately it failed.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida freshman, said Massie was “making misrepresentations about the bill” she authored.
A band of pro-Trump political figures went even further, casting doubts about Massie’s reasoning and calling for his defeat. Massie has endorsed Trump rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
“Not only is he being duplicitous, partisan and moronic about his choice – he’s straight up lying about the Constitution to achieve his political end goals. Sick,” wrote Raheem Kassam, a British political activist and editor in chief of The National Pulse.
“Kentucky deserves a lot better,” chimed in Steve Bannon, a former counselor to Trump and host of a streaming program called “The War Room.”
Eric Deters, who finished fourth in Kentucky’s Republican primary for governor last month, took to Facebook Live to suggest a political challenge to Massie.
“There’s no difference between these guys and the Democrats. And they play footsie with them, and they do it over and over and over again … Now you’ve got Thomas Massie doing it,” Deters complained. “The only way it changes if we defeat them. We just got to do something about it. I plan on doing something about Thomas Massie, coming soon. I promise you.”
Despite gripes from Trump affiliated conservatives and Trump’s own previous call to defeat Massie, the 4th District congressman has easily survived previous challenges.
Massie argued that if successful, the measure against Schiff could set a dangerous precedent.
But he also signaled he could sign on to a revised version of the Schiff censure measure, which Luna said could come up for a vote as soon as next week.
“This is a race to the bottom,” he said. “If a simple majority of the House can lay claim to $16 million from one member of Congress, our republic is doomed if Democrats ever get the majority back. Glad to see the author of the censure resolution is removing this provision from the resolution and going to try again.”
Luna is already preparing another shot at it, according to Schiff, who said she told him another censure resolution would be brought to the floor next week, “and this one will pass.”
This story was originally published June 15, 2023 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Massie bucks GOP leadership again on Adam Schiff censure vote, draws conservative ire."
