(ZeroHedge)—Rapidly making good on President Trump’s promise to back a 2026 Republican primary challenger to libertarian-minded Rep. Thomas Massie, the Trump team has already launched a super PAC dedicated entirely to removing Massie from office next year. It promises to make for the strongest challenge Massie’s faced yet.
The new “Kentucky MAGA” super PAC will be run by top Trump political operatives Tony Fabrizio and Chris LaCivita, with La Civita telling Axios the new entity will spend “whatever it takes” to replace Massie. Trump’s political circle has already had discussions with potential challengers. “Massie’s long-time opposition to…really anything to do with President Trump — is coming to an end,” LaCivita said.
First elected to Congress in 2012 and consistently advocating for fiscal discipline, the right of armed self-defense, and a non-interventionist foreign policy, Massie has built a large and loyal national following among the libertarian right and other conservatives, with many regarding him as the congressional successor to the iconic Ron Paul. Massie issued a caution to would-be challengers: “Any serious person considering running should spend money on an independent poll before letting swampy consultants take them for an embarrassing ride.”
Massie, who has two degrees from MIT, has repeatedly triggered Trump’s wrath. In 2020, he opposed the $2 trillion, Trump-backed Covid-19 “relief package.” When Congressional leaders tried to usher it through without members present, Massie memorably stepped to the podium and declared, “Mr. Speaker, I came here to make sure our republic doesn’t die by unanimous consent in an empty chamber, and I request a recorded vote.” Last year, Massie told Tucker Carlson about his quest, which entailed a rushed, 8-hour drive to Washington and sleeping three nights in his wife’s SUV:
In May of this year, Massie was one of only two Republicans to vote against the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Objecting to its continuation of Washington’s profligate spending, he said, “We’re not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight. We’re putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg.” More recently, Massie condemned Trump’s unconstitutional waging of war on Iran and introduced a war powers resolution to prohibit military action without congressional consent.
Massie’s resistance to war on Iran, and his frequent votes against aid to Israel and other elements of Israel’s agenda inside American shores, means pro-Israel forces will be gunning for Massie too. Despite the fact that Massie faced no viable GOP opponent nor any Democrat opponent at all in 2024, the intentionally-vaguely-named United Democracy Project — the independent campaign-spending arm of the mighty American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) — said it was spending $300,000 on ads on Fox television affiliates all across Kentucky last year. The move was seen as an preemptive attack in case Massie opts to pursue the seat being vacated by Mitch McConnell in 2026.
Given Republicans’ narrow 220-to-213 edge in House seats, Massie’s refusal to play ball frequently causes anxiety for the Trump administration and House leadership. (Two formerly-Democratic seats currently empty due to the deaths of the incumbents are awaiting special elections.)
For now, other Republicans in the House are abstaining from joining Trump in attacking Massie. When asked if he’ll back Massie in his primary, Speaker Mike Johnson — whom Massie voted against in the speakership selection — told NBC News “[that’s] the hardest question I had this morning.” As the GOP leadership team laughed nearby, Johnson added:
“I’m a leader of my party here, and the speaker leads the incumbent protection program. I got to make sure everybody gets re-elected… I certainly understand the president’s frustration about the colleague you named, and he and I talk about that quite a bit.”
Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who himself dodged a MAGA-led challenge in 2024, said, “Teaming up to go against President Trump? Yeah, no, that doesn’t sound like a winning mission for me. I’ll sit this one out, boys. You all let me know how it goes.” On the other side of the Capitol, however, the most libertarian-minded senator, Rand Paul, praised Massie and predicted he’ll survive the onslaught:
“He’s the most faithful to the Constitution of any of the members of the House. He’s fiscally conservative, and I think he cares a lot about Kentucky. And I think that’s what they’ll remember when they vote for him.”
Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are allowed to raise and spend unlimited funds from individuals, corporations and other entities to advocate for or against candidates. They cannot, however, coordinate their strategy with candidates, though the intent of that restriction is easily circumvented. As the anti-Massie super PAC gears up, Trump’s most recent attacks on Massie and his vow to unseat him have had an unintended effect — as contributions to Massie’s campaign fund have poured in from around the country:
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