Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the most constitutionally obedient congressmen, will not serve on the House Rules Committee this coming legislative session.
The House Rules Committee sets the rules that determine which bills to bring to the full House of Representatives. It also influences the amendments that will be included in the proposals before they get to the House floor. The House speaker controls membership on the committee, and the majority party holds nine of the 13 seats.
Massie was the only Republican who voted against the reelection of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in January, despite the speaker having disappointed many others with his poor performance since obtaining the gavel a year ago.
The initial response among many when this news broke was that Johnson was getting back at Massie for not supporting him. But Massie said that’s not the case, noting in a tweet on Tuesday that this was not retribution. He volunteered to step aside if the speaker wanted someone else — and Johnson took him up on it.
The House GOP’s membership vote for the House Rules Committee happened Tuesday morning, with Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia chosen to replace Massie.
Massie’s History
Massie has served in the House since 2012, and was appointed to the committee in 2023 as part of a deal with then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to get the gavel. Massie has opposed Johnson’s support for Ukraine aid, his support for the government surveillance bill that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to spy on Americans without a warrant, and his support for a monstrosity of a spending bill more than 1,500 pages long and loaded with pork.
He has earned a near-perfect score of 99 on The New American’s Freedom Index, a gauge that determines how well or badly legislators adhere to the U.S. Constitution. All lawmakers swear allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, but few obey it, as the Freedom Index clearly shows.
Griffith is a member of the House Freedom Caucus who “rarely joins his colleagues’ rebellions against leadership,” Axios observed. His Freedom Index score is 77. Unlike Massie, he’s all for sending money to Ukraine. And he voted for the 1,500-plus page spending bill that failed, as well as the subsequent shorter bill that passed without support from 34 Republicans, Massie included.
Dear reader: We encourage you to access and utilize The New American’s Freedom Index as often as possible. It goes beyond the rhetoric and straight to lawmakers’ records. Share it with friends and use it to persuade your representatives to adhere to the Constitution. Access it HERE.