Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was blindsided by one of his party members after negotiating a peace deal with the president, according to a new report.
Axios reported Wednesday that Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) reneged on an agreement he made to vote for President Donald Trump's domestic spending bill. Johnson negotiated a deal where Massie reportedly had agreed to vote for the bill to get Trump to stop attacking him publicly. Massie voted to pass the bill along procedurally, but voted against the final version.
Massie then went on the offensive and began attacking Republican leaders over releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to Axios.
The move caught Johnson, who had shielded Massie from Trump's attacks, off guard, Axios reported.
Massie has also continued attacking Republicans since the event. For example, he wrote a post on X last week asking Johnson, "Why are you running cover for an underage sex trafficking ring and pretending this is a partisan issue? MAGA voted for this."
Massie is also leading a bipartisan effort with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to pass a motion that would make the Epstein files publicly available.
Johnson has thus far been able to block the motion from appearing on the House floor for a vote. However, it remains to be seen whether the motion reappears when Congress reconvenes in September.
Massie's attacks come at a time when Trump is trying to distance himself from the Epstein files story altogether.