MAGA Camp Seeking To Primary Republican Rep. Who Voted Against Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill'

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has not been shy to oppose President Donald Trump's policies, most recently rejecting to support his party's "big beautiful bill" over debt concerns. Now, his positions may cost him, as a GOP operation is reportedly looking for primary challengers to take his seat in the next election cycle.

Massie was one of the Republicans who staunchly opposed the Republican Party's sweeping bill to enact key pieces of Trump's agenda this year, such as extending the 2017 tax cuts and boosting spending for immigration enforcement. He has also publicly criticized the bill, calling it a "ticking debt bomb" that represents "Biden-level spending and increased deficits," and contains a concession he said would "primarily benefit limousine liberals in blue states."

The congressman's stance has reportedly reached the president, who has privately wondered what the point is of having a Republican in Massie's seat if "they're going to vote with Democrats and trash Republicans all the time," according to Axios.

On Tuesday, Trump vocalized his views to reporters, saying the Kentuckian should be "voted out of office."

Massie and Trump have clashed for years. In 2019 the congressman joined House Democrats in opposing Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border. In 2020, after the Rep. opposed a COVID relief package, Trump called on him to be "out of the Republican Party." Massie was also one of six House Republicans to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump during the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

Now, the tensions have seemingly reached a peak, with the president's political operatives engaging in conversations with potential primary challengers, according to Axios. Two names have seemingly already popped on the list: state Sen. Aaron Reed and state Rep. Kimberly Moser.

"Massie is about to be in the fight of his life," said Kentucky-based GOP strategist Jake Cox. "Just wait until he sees the money a Trump-backed candidate can raise simply from the President saying their name into a camera or opening up his email list."

Another Kentucky GOP official says having the President be involved in the upcoming race could be a game changer, given that Massie has not had a tough challenge in recent cycles.

"Massie has had weak primary opponents in previous cycles and made mincemeat of them, but I think this time is different. Supporting Trump is the No. 1— and sometimes the only— issue in GOP primaries at the moment," the unnamed official told Axios.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has hinted that the administration will be looking to primary those who do not completely fall in line with the president's agenda, namely Massie and Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson, who has also been a vocal critic of the "big beautiful bill."

Asked by a reporter at a briefing on Thursday whether Trump thinks the duo should be primaried, Leavitt responded, "I believe he does."

"I don't think he likes to see grandstanders in Congress," she added. "'What's the alternative?' I would ask those members of Congress. Did they want to see a tax hike? Did they want to see our country go bankrupt?"

But despite threats, the congressman himself does not seem worried about losing his seat, telling Axios that he does not think Trump could find a strong candidate to run against him.

"If somebody got in this race and they were a reasonable person, not crazy to run against me, I would call them up and say: 'You know what you should do before you dedicate the next year and a half of your life to getting your a** kicked? You should do a poll," he said.