Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stopped short of endorsing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) for re-election on Tuesday, days after President Trump threatened to back a primary challenger for the GOP lawmaker — the latest jab in the long-running feud between the two Republicans.
The lukewarm response follows days of Trump attacking Massie on social media after the Kentucky Republican voted against the party’s “big, beautiful bill” last month and said the president’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend were “not Constitutional.”
On Sunday, however, Trump escalated his rhetoric, vowing to campaign “hard” for a primary challenger to Massie, who has served in the House since 2012.
Asked on Tuesday if he will defend Massie against a primary challenger, Johnson weighed his commitments as Speaker with his understanding of Trump’s anger with the Kentucky Republican.
“That’s the hardest question I had this morning, and I’m being totally honest with you,” Johnson said. “Look, the Speaker’s job, my role with my party cap on is I’m leader of my party here, and the Speaker leads the incumbent protection program, right, that’s what we call it. I gotta make sure everybody gets re-elected. I travel the country nonstop, relentlessly, raising money to ensure that that happens.”
“But I certainly understand the president’s frustration about the colleague you named, and he and I talk about that quite a bit,” he continued. “Can’t quite understand what the rationale is but if you’re here and you’re wearing one team’s jersey and every single time you vote with the other team, people begin to question what your motive is and what your philosophy is and why you’re so consistently opposed to the platform, the agenda of your party.”
It remains unclear who will primary Massie, but the effort to find a candidate is ramping up. Chris LaCivita, Trump’s 2024 co-campaign manager, and Tony Fabrizio, a Trump pollster, launched a new super PAC that is aimed at unseating Massie.
“MAGA KY was formed for the specific purpose of firing Thomas Massie – His constituents will soon learn that he prefers the politics and policy of AOC and the radical left – over President Trump,” LaCivita told NewsNation.
Massie, for his part, has not flinched amid the increased pressure. On Monday, he said “I have the Trump antibodies,” likely referring to previous scuffles he has gotten into with Trump, and on Tuesday, after Johnson stopped short of offering support for the incumbent, Massie re-posted Trump’s May 2022 statement endorsing the Kentucky Republican.
“For those who want to know what @realDonaldTrump really thinks of me, this should clear things up…” he wrote on X with the old endorsement.
Trump and Massie have historically had a complicated relationship.
In March 2020, Massie tried to force a vote on the CARES Act COVID-19 stimulus bill, which forced members to return to Washington to avoid a delay in passing the legislation — drawing the ire of Trump. In August 2022, Trump endorsed Massie before his primary, calling the Kentucky Republican “a first-rate Defender of the Constitution.” In April 2023, Massie endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the GOP presidential primary, sparking intense anger from Trump. In October 2024, after DeSantis had dropped out, Massie endorsed Trump.
Trump and Johnson’s frustrations with Massie are resurfacing as the Kentucky Republican voted against key party legislation, supported an effort to oust the Speaker last year and, most recently, sharply criticized the president’s strike in Iran.
Massie is co-leading a bipartisan war powers resolution with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would prevent the U.S. from additional intervention in Iran, an effort that Johnson has staked opposition to. Massie, however, may hold back the resolution now that Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Trump unloaded on Massie as recently as Tuesday morning, calling him a “Third Rate Congressman” and a “LOSER.”
Johnson, additionally, told reporters: “We never agree these days, I’m not sure where his philosophy is coming from.”