Massie Blasts Johnson for Calling Him ‘Stupid’ for Correctly Predicting Speaker Would Send House to Recess

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) fired back at Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for calling him “stupid” for predicting something that did, in fact, happen.

Massie lost his primary in May to Ed Gallrein, a NAVY Seal who was endorsed by President Donald Trump. It was a bitterly fought race and the most expensive House primary in U.S. history. Key among the issues where Massie broke with Trump was over the Epstein files, with the congressman pushing discharge petitions for their release, including a new one he filed this summer.

The Kentucky congressman is among those who lost their primaries to Republican challengers backed by the president, and now seeming less willing to hold their tongues. A few days after losing to Gallrein, Massie announced he had filed to run to retake his seat in the 2028 elections.

On Tuesday, Massie posted on his social media that he and several other members had launched a discharge petition to force a vote on an updated second bill to release the files related to deceased child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

However, noted Massie, there were “rumors” that Johnson “will soon recess the House until after the midterm elections,” which he speculated would be done “to avoid the vote.”

Johnson reacted to Massie’s post with indignation when he was asked about it later that day by LindellTV’s congressional correspondent, Alison Steinberg.

“Let me tell you how stupid Thomas Massie’s comment is,” said Johnson, insisting that “Republicans are here to work,” and Massie would know that if he had attended the House Republican Conference meeting that morning. Johnson vowed that House Republicans “would abide by that calendar” that had been “out for a year,” which mean they would “work all the way through September and every day that’s on the calendar, so long as people like him don’t stop the progress.”

“So that is a nonsensical statement by someone who is not participating as a full member of the Congress, and it’s really sad that he doesn’t,” Johnson concluded.

Massie fired back Thursday, tweeting a fire emoji and screenshots of his Tuesday tweet and the updated House calendar with the recess dates crossed out.

“Tuesday I tweeted Mike Johnson would recess Congress until after the election in an attempt to stymie our latest Epstein bill,” wrote Massie. “Johnson went on TV adamantly saying that was STUPID and we’d work every day. Today he announced we’ll recess on Sept 17… until after the election!”

Massie’s tweet also included one additional photo, a red hat with white lettering reminiscent of the “Make America Great Again” hats popularized by Trump.

Screenshot via X.

“Massie Was Right About Everything,” the Kentucky congressman’s hat read.

Massie shared a video clip of him on a Lindell TV program replying to Johnson before the recess was announced.

“I basically predicted he wasn’t telling the truth, whether he knew it or not,” wrote Massie.

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