House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was not able to get President Donald Trump‘s “big, beautiful bill” passed by the House Budget Committee today. Five House Representatives — Chip Roy (R-TX), Ralph Norman and Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), and Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) — voted against the measure along with all of the Democrats.
Representative Thomas Massie (R-WV), who has made it clear that he would vote against the bill, responded to today’s vote on X by writing: “Much of the ridiculous spending DOGE found was not an oversight by Republicans. It was intentional. At State of the Union, @POTUS listed ridiculous appropriations to cut, and the Republicans who had funded it cheered! It’s no surprise Congress did a CR to fund all of it again.”
Massie added: “My colleagues are not corrupt, but the institution of Congress has been corrupted just as a hard drive can be corrupted. Contamination, fragmentation, misallocation, and missing bits have made the thing unworkable.”
My colleagues are not corrupt, but the institution of Congress has been corrupted just as a hard drive can be corrupted.
Contamination, fragmentation, misallocation, and missing bits have made the thing unworkable.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 16, 2025
The libertarian lawmakers added: “This is a hard pill for many to swallow, but I’m going to double down: Lots of regular people like those here on X get elected to Congress. But they get there and don’t have what it takes to work against the corrupted system… and they don’t get rich from lobbyists or trading.”
This is a hard pill for many to swallow, but I’m going to double down:
Lots of regular people like those here on X get elected to Congress.
But they get there and don’t have what it takes to work against the corrupted system… and they don’t get rich from lobbyists or trading.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 16, 2025
Massie’s statements are receiving a lot of backlash on X where more than one replied, “Some of your colleagues are definitely corrupt.”
Former Big Pharma executive Chris Martenson replied, “Respectfully, some of them *are* corrupt” and veteran Matt Strickland replied, “How can you say your colleagues aren’t corrupt when they’re worth millions of dollars off of a $175k a year salary?”
CEO and Founder of MediaTech Ventures Paul O’Brien responded: “Failing to fix corruption when you’re charged by constituents with upholding the Constitution = corruption. Overlooking those that do so, because of their power, influence, or to trade favors, is just as bad as being directly corrupt.”