Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is putting House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in a difficult position as the Kentucky Republican spearheads an effort to push for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files while having a target on his back from President Donald Trump.
Johnson, who, as speaker, is tasked with defending incumbent members, insists there is “no daylight” between the House and the White House and is deferring to Trump on how and when to release all of the information and documents related to Epstein.
But members like Massie warn that the decision to wait until after August recess could cost Republicans politically with their conservative base, as many in Trump’s MAGA voting bloc are demanding transparency and immediate action from either Congress or the White House to release the files.
Massie is looking to put Republicans on record with a bill introduced by him and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), which instructs the DOJ to release the documents on the disgraced and since-deceased financier.
But Johnson disagrees with this approach and is unhappy with Massie for taking up this fight while the Trump administration is in power.
“I don’t understand Thomas Massie’s motivation,” the speaker said Tuesday. “I really don’t. I don’t know how his mind works. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
To force a vote on the bill, Massie is using a discharge petition, a process that Republicans often blast as a “tool of the minority.” A GOP discharge petition is typically used for a bill not backed by leadership, and it usually includes a majority of Democratic names and a few Republican signatures. Massie needs 218 signatures to get his bill to the floor.
The speaker said Massie could have brought his bill via discharge petition up anytime during the last four years, but “now he’s clamoring as if there’s some sort of timeline.”
“It’s interesting to me that he chose the election of President Trump to bring this, to team up with the Democrats and bring this discharge petition,” Johnson said. “So, do I have some concern about that? I do, but you know, with me in my way, I try to follow Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment: Never speak evil of another Republican.”
“So let me just say about Thomas Massie, could you just accept my Southern ‘bless his heart,’” the speaker added.
Massie has been the target of Trump for several years, but the feud reignited earlier this year when the Kentucky Republican said he was against the House’s short-term spending deal in March that extended government funding until September.
Trump then pledged to “lead the charge” and back a primary challenger against Massie, whom he calls a “third-rate grandstander.” The president continued to slam Massie when he said he wouldn’t vote for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and expressed doubt that Iran was an “imminent threat” that required the United States to bomb the foreign country’s nuclear facilities in June.
On Monday night, Trump blasted Massie as the “worst Republican congressman” and an “Embarrassment to Kentucky.” The post came after Massie spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill and posted on social media demanding the files be released.
Elected in 2012, he has handily won reelection. In 2024, he was primaried by two candidates and won with about 76% of the vote. In 2022, he defeated three primary opponents with about 73% of the vote.
Massie is unbothered by Trump’s attacks, he said.
“They’re desperately trying to find somebody to run against me,” Massie said. “Like they are literally going through the yellow pages and the white pages, calling people up. People are calling me and saying, ‘I just got a call, they asked me to run for Congress. My wife would never let me do that — besides, you’re a good congressman.’”
While Johnson and Massie do not see eye to eye on most issues, Johnson is tasked with defending incumbents, particularly in the 2026 midterm elections, in which every GOP vote counts and Republicans currently have a two-seat majority. Once former Rep. Mark Green’s replacement is sworn in, it will jump back up to a three-seat majority.
Trump calling for an incumbent to be ousted puts Johnson in a difficult position. Leadership on both sides of the aisle, as well as their campaign arms, rarely support challengers to incumbents. It is the practice of the National Republican Congressional Committee, in particular, not to make endorsements against incumbents as well.
Johnson stopped short of endorsing Massie in June during the escalation of the Kentucky Republican’s feud with Trump, noting he and Massie “never agree these days” and that he understood Trump’s frustration with the congressman.
EPSTEIN FILES PARALYZE THE HOUSE, FORCING JOHNSON TO CANCEL VOTES AND START RECESS
“That’s the hardest question I had this morning, and I’m being totally honest with you,” Johnson said last month. “Look, the speaker’s job, my role with my party cap on, is I’m leader of my party here, and the speaker leads the incumbent protection program, right, that’s what we call it. I gotta make sure everybody gets reelected. I travel the country nonstop, relentlessly, raising money to ensure that that happens.”
“But I certainly understand the president’s frustration about the colleague you named, and he and I talk about that quite a bit,” Johnson added. “Can’t quite understand what the rationale is, but if you’re here and you’re wearing one team’s jersey and every single time you vote with the other team, people begin to question what your motive is and what your philosophy is and why you’re so consistently opposed to the platform, the agenda of your party.”