Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, fresh from a battle with House GOP leaders who had backed his primary opponent, is laying out his demands for the next coronavirus economic relief package being negotiated in Congress.
While Massie can’t stop the bill from passing both chambers of Congress and being signed by President Trump, he can try to force a roll-call vote on the House floor. That would force his colleagues to schlep back to Washington under adverse health conditions.
Virus bills should deal with only one topic at a time
the bill to fund testing should stand alone
the bill for small businesses should stand alone
the bill for state governments should stand alone
the bill for hospitals should stand alone
No OMNIBUS & no hidden pet projects— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 20, 2020
Presently, as a result of the small business aid program running out of money, Congress could reconvene this week in Washington, D.C., to craft another large spending bill that would refinance the program to continue to help small businesses in the struggling economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
Massie previously angered lawmakers on both sides of the aisle after he demanded a roll-call vote be taken for the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package that passed last month. However, both parties summoned enough of their members, 216 lawmakers to the floor, to quash Massie’s action.
Taking retribution against Massie for his action on the House floor, House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, and Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican, both gave money to Massie’s primary opponent Todd McMurtry.
However, both Cheney and Turner ended up revoking their endorsements and asking for their contributions to be returned after racially-charged tweets from McMurtry’s Twitter feed came to the forefront this past weekend.
The turn of events places Republican leadership in a difficult position with Massie, an MIT-trained engineer who holds numerous patents, and is often at odds with House Republican leadership over what he calls insufficient fealty to principles. The deadline for primary candidates to file in Kentucky congressional races has passed. McMurtry is the only primary opponent going up against Massie, 49, in a district the congressman has consistently overwhelmingly won each cycle.
