Republican Boasts About Rejecting Trump’s Demand: “He Said Jump, and We Didn’t Jump”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) made a statement on Friday night, saying that House Republicans went against Donald Trump after the GOP conference decided not to follow the president-elect’s request. Massie was proud of this decision, as it showed that they were not simply following Trump’s instructions.
On that same Friday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to fund the government for another three months, extending funding until March. This bill came just hours before the government was about to shut down due to a lack of funding.
Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, Trump demanded that the bill include a raise or removal of the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is a limit set by the government on how much money it can borrow. The debt ceiling needs to be raised periodically to prevent the government from running out of money to pay its bills.
In response to Trump’s demand, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) pulled an existing bill from the agenda. He then introduced a new bill the following day, which did include a proposal to raise the debt ceiling. However, this new bill did not include the provision Trump wanted, which caused some tension.
On Thursday, Trump expressed his frustration with the situation in an interview with Fox News Digital. He said, “Anyone who supports a bill that doesn’t deal with the debt ceiling should be removed quickly.” Trump was clearly upset that the bill did not meet his demand to address the debt ceiling.
Despite Trump’s wishes, the bill that the House passed on Friday did not include any changes to the debt ceiling. This upset Trump, according to reports. Politico’s Burgess Everett shared on social media that Trump was not pleased with the outcome.
He said, “Trump is NOT happy that the spending deal doesn’t include the debt ceiling.” Everett also mentioned that it wasn’t clear whether Trump would try to stop the bill in the Senate, but he was unhappy about the lack of action on the debt ceiling in the bill.
Rep. Massie, who is known for voting against most bills—including this one—actually saw the decision not to include the debt ceiling as a victory. He called it an “institutional victory” for Congress, meaning that it showed that Congress didn’t simply follow the president’s demands.
After the vote, Massie gave an interview where he criticized Speaker Mike Johnson’s handling of the situation. He said Johnson didn’t have the “situational awareness” to realize that the first bill wouldn’t pass. Massie also expressed frustration about the decision to include the debt ceiling issue in the bill, saying that adding it was a mistake. He added, “In some ways, this is a victory. The president said jump, and we didn’t jump.”
Massie and Trump have not always seen eye to eye. In 2020, Massie, who is often referred to as “Mr. No” because he votes against many bills, voted against emergency pandemic relief. This upset Trump, who publicly criticized Massie, calling him a “third-rate grandstander.” Despite this, Trump later supported Massie in his next election. This shows that while they may not always agree, their relationship has had its ups and downs.
