Rule-Making Rebels

Rep. Thomas Massie, long a congressional contrarian, says he wants his role on the powerful Rules Committee to be constructive.

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Rep. Thomas Massie (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has more experience butting heads with his party’s leaders than just about anyone in the House. Now he’ll serve on the powerful Rules Committee—a job typically reserved for staunch leadership allies—because of a deal Speaker Kevin McCarthy made with his Freedom Caucus critics to secure the speakership.

Joining Massie are Reps. Chip Roy and Ralph Norman, two Freedom Caucus members who initially opposed McCarthy’s speakership bid. The committee’s new makeup means those three members could exercise veto power over GOP leadership’s plans—and can enforce the parts of the deal with McCarthy that assured a more open legislative process. Massie backed McCarthy in the speakership race and isn’t a Freedom Caucus member, but he has broadly libertarian beliefs and aligns with the group in many ways. 

Often the sole “no” vote on bills with wide support, Massie is infamous for being a contrarian. He told reporters after the midterm elections that a slim majority means “I can decide whether a bill passes or not.” So the Rules posting has fueled concerns he and the Freedom Caucus members may block or delay legislation they disagree with—such as a debt ceiling increase later this year.

But Massie is taking a somewhat softer tone about the role. “It’s not my goal to be on the Rules Committee and to stop everything that I don’t like,” Massie told The Dispatch Monday. “Even though when you look at it numerically, the composition of the committee, ‘Oh my gosh, three people could stop anything.’ That’s not my goal. For me, I don’t think it would be productive or sustainable for me to do that every week.”

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  1. Laurie

    I see other commentators here have mentioned the Christmas card. I cannot hear this man's name without that infamy coming to mind (recall it was 2 weeks after the Oxford H. S. shooting which left 4 teenagers dead). I am saddened that we have representatives that don't mourn with the nation in times of great grief, but instead add to the suffering of the hurting.

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    Ben Connelly

    “ but he has broadly libertarian beliefs”

    There’s a statement for you. Good description for it. He’s sort of a libertarian but also sort of a MAGA populist and - like Rand Paul - sullies the mantle of libertarianism.

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  3. DTruitt

    If Massie becomes too obstructionist, then there are ways to deal with it. He can be removed from the committee by House leadership (McCarthy, essentially). Or a discharge petition can be filed, and if it is a bill with strong Republican support and at least some Democrat support, it can pass the full House. The rules can get a bit complex on discharge petitions. Leadership doesn't like them, of course, but in this case it might even be that McCarthy would support a discharge petition.

    Lots of inside baseball stuff here. One or a couple of Congressmen in a committee are not going to control the entire House of Representatives if leadership doesn't see it that way.

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  4. Randall Briggs

    Thomas Massie is the culture warrior who sent out a Christmas card with everyone in his family holding automatic weapons. He, as the Special Ops Team leader, cradled an M60 machine gun, which he--as a certifiable moron--should not be allowed to own.

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  5. Cetompkins3

    So happy that “the world’s greatest deliberative body” (the Senate, silly) can devote its valuable time to investigating why Taylor Swift’s ticket sale melted down. Truly a matter of great national consequence.

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      Stephanie

      There is a big problem with Ticketmaster and other similar companies (I had a problem with Telecharge & Broadway tickets that took weeks to resolve) controlling access to tickets and what people are forced to pay.

      So it does require looking into. There are some shady business practices likely going down and this is what the Senate is for—protecting the public.

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  6. Rune485

    Sure.

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    JohnM.

    A very good profile of Thomas Massie, and one I doubt I'd see anywhere else. Thanks again, Haley.

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      Stephanie

      He posts some really crazy inflammatory culture war red meat on Twitter.

      I finally muted him and his nonsense.

      So I’m quite curious to see how he comports himself when the rubber meets the road.

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        JohnM.

        Damn.

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  8. Acre00

    Massie is saying all the right things, now we see if he follows. And more crucially, whether he speaks for two freedom caucus members.

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    Kent Mansfield

    I lived in Massie’s district until recently. I first met him when he was the Lewis County Judge Executive. He came to speak at our monthly county Republican executive committee meeting. I have heard him speak many times and had high hopes for him.

    As an engineer, I was very impressed that both he and his wife managed to obtain Bachelors and Masters degrees from MIT after graduating from lowly Lewis County High School.

    I doubt many in the district know of Massie’s statements on the January 6 or the disputed election. He hid them well. If someone is trying to steal an election, and you feel strongly about it, submit an opinion piece to the local papers, get on the local TV news. He wasn’t willing to stick his neck out.

    His last election campaign also really repulsed me. It was basically “I love Trump much more than my opponent.” Well, that may be an exaggeration.

    Then there is the infamous Christmas card.

    Hopefully he will return to becoming someone I can support again but it will take some effort.

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    Philbnichols

    HaleyByrd, your description of Thomas Massie was very generous, so generous that I didn't recognize him as the 'Christmas card family w/guns', Zelensky-speech-boycotting, Trumpy guy a short internet search finds him to be. I guess that's good work by you, and the kind of level-setting compromising the Rs will have to do to keep from imploding in the 'post-Trump?' era. Good piece, but depressing.

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