U.S. President Donald Trump talks on the phone as he departs the White House for Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz
A Republican lawmaker upended the rationale for President Donald Trump's legislative obsession.
The 80-year-old president is demanding congressional Republicans pass his SAVE America Act to prevent widespread election fraud, which he continues to insist cost him the presidency in 2020, but Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) called those claims absurd.
"I think it's a distraction from our real problems," Massie said. "I think it's ironic that we control the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court and the White House, and we're yelling 'election fraud'? I mean, we won all the damn elections."
Massie lost his Republican primary race last month to the Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein after the congressman angered the president for successfully pushing for the release of the Department of Justice files on Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious sex offender and longtime Trump friend.
Trump abruptly canceled a scheduled signing of bipartisan legislation intended to bring down housing costs, and he repeated his demand that he would not sign anything until Congress approves the SAVE America Act, which critics say would disenfranchise millions of voters.