Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Just as President Donald Trump appears to have hit pause on a major conflict in the Middle East, he is intensifying one at home.<\/p>\n
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is the chief target of the president’s powerful political operation, which is looking to oust the outspoken congressman in the GOP primary next year.<\/p>\n
The congressman has been a thorn in the president’s side in the past, but Massie\u2019s latest threat to introduce a resolution<\/a> aimed at reining in presidential war powers comes as Trump was already seething about Massie\u2019s multiple attempts to thwart the \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d ahead of Republicans\u2019 self-imposed July 4 deadline.<\/p>\n Massie has easily beat back challenges before, including a raft of money from pro-Israel donors. But this time, the six-term Congressman\u2019s strong independent political brand may not withstand the blitz that the president’s allies appear ready to unleash. Not only has Trump vowed to campaign \u201creally hard\u201d against Massie next year, his political operation has launched a super PAC dedicated solely to defeating the Kentuckian.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s probably more vulnerable than he’s been since he first won in a primary because of all this,\u2019 said GOP strategist and former Kentucky state Rep. Adam Koenig. \u201cThere’s money outside of Trump world ready to go after Massie.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s political apparatus began ramping up its efforts to boot Massie after the representative voted against the party\u2019s massive tax-and-spending package for the president\u2019s domestic policy priorities when it first went through the House last month. It went public with its plans \u2014 a super PAC dubbed Kentucky MAGA led by two of the president\u2019s most-trusted lieutenants, Chris LaCivita and pollster Tony Fabrizio, first reported by Axios<\/a> \u2014 as Massie pushed to reassert congressional authority over Trump\u2019s military actions in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has established himself as a contrarian for contrarian sake,\u201d LaCivita said in a text message to POLITICO. \u201cHe should be a man and switch parties instead of posing as a Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n The president and his advisers have viciously attacked Massie on social media in recent days, with Trump marshalling his MAGA base to dump \u201cLOSER\u201d Massie and \u201cGET THIS \u2018BUM\u2019 OUT OF OFFICE.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump and Massie have had a contentious relationship dating back to the president\u2019s first term, when he pushed to \u201cthrow Massie out of the Republican Party\u201d after the Kentucky Republican erected a roadblock to Trump\u2019s Covid-19 relief package<\/a> in March 2020. Trump later endorsed Massie\u2019s 2022 reelection bid and Massie backed Trump in 2024 \u2014 but only after initially supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the presidential primary.<\/p>\n But now that Trump is back in the Oval Office, Massie has attempted to cripple the president\u2019s legislative agenda multiple times, including becoming the only Republican to vote against<\/a> a stopgap government funding bill in March. Unlike in the past, the president appears to be making good on his threats to try getting Massie out of office by putting a super PAC on the case.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a real opportunity\u2026they\u2019re going to spend upwards of $30 million to defeat Thomas Massie,\u201d said one Kentucky GOP political operative who, like many interviewed for this story, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive intraparty matters.<\/p>\n The operative, who did not vote for Trump, also heard rumblings that AIPAC, one of the most prominent pro-Israel groups, is also ready to spend big in the May 2026 Kentucky primary \u2014 suggesting Massie’s anti-war efforts may be met with resistance on multiple fronts. Some Republican strategists estimate combined spending could reach as high as $45 million, an unheard of total for a primary contest in the 4th Congressional District. (The only outside spending against Massie in last year\u2019s primary was about $320,000 from AIPAC\u2019s super PAC, United Democracy Project.)<\/p>\n Even Speaker Mike Johnson hedged Tuesday on whether he would support Massie next year \u2014 despite acknowledging it\u2019s his job as the top House Republican to protect his party\u2019s incumbents.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly understand the president\u2019s frustration\u201d with Massie, Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. \u201cIf you\u2019re here and you\u2019re wearing one team\u2019s jersey and every single time you vote with the other team, people begin to question \u2026 why you\u2019re so consistently opposed to the platform, the agenda of your party.\u201d<\/p>\n But Massie appears unfazed by Trump and his allies\u2019 electoral threats.<\/p>\n “In 2020 I got my Trump antibodies from a natural infection when he came after me, and I survived,\u201d Massie quipped to reporters on Tuesday. \u201cIt will deplete his political capital if he doesn’t succeed, and he knows that. So that’s got to be part of his calculus.”<\/p>\n