Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said his colleagues who voted to pass a $2.2 trillion economic relief bill on Friday want to hide their support of the massive spending package.
Massie attempted to call a roll-call vote of the economic relief bill on Friday, but his move was defeated after being outnumbered by lawmakers who came to the House chamber to urge passage of the measure.
Party leaders had to summon 216 lawmakers to the floor and gallery in order to constitute a quorum and defeat Massie’s roll-call demand. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, had to eat up floor time as they waited for lawmakers to arrive.
“Well, they didn’t even give me a minute to speak in the four-hour debate. There’s a big cover-up in there. They’re trying to cover up their votes,” Massie told reporters. “They had enough people there to pass the bill, but they still refused to have a recorded vote. And they told me they were trying to protect members.”
“I came here this week to make sure our republic doesn’t die in an empty chamber by unanimous consent. These people need to do their job. If you’re telling people to drive a truck, they’re telling people to bag groceries and grow their food,” he added. “They didn’t do a thing yesterday. They were trying to say this would delay it to have a recorded vote. The truth is they don’t want a recorded vote. They don’t want to be on record of making the biggest mistake in history.”
The bill now heads to President Trump, who earlier criticized Massie as “a third-rate grandstander.”
Massie jokingly responded, “I’m at least second-rate.”
