Republican lawmaker spills details on underground Trump resistance network within GOP
There is a silent GOP resistance with congress, according to a Republican lawmaker who says six to a dozen colleagues privately admitted they'd defy Donald Trump under certain circumstances.
Rep. Thomas Massie is claiming the existence of a shadow network of Republicans in Congress who privately confess they would vote according to their constituents' wishes rather than party dictates—but only if Massie can survive his primary challenge and prove that defying Trump carries no fatal political consequences, according to a new report from The Atlantic.
In an interview, Massie revealed that multiple House Republicans have approached him directly with the same message: if he wins his May 19 primary against Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, whom Trump personally recruited to challenge him, it would embolden others to break ranks.
"There would be six to a dozen congressmen who are more liable to vote with their constituents instead of the party line," Massie said, adding that he had "spoken with some of them directly" but declining to identify them.
The revelation suggests a GOP caucus operating under a climate of intimidation, where Republicans suppress their actual policy preferences and constituent concerns out of fear that opposing Trump will trigger a primary challenge or public attacks from the president.
Massie's own experience illustrates the stakes. Trump has attacked him relentlessly on Truth Social, at rallies in his district, and even at the National Prayer Breakfast, calling him a "totally ineffective LOSER," "the worst," and a "Moron." Trump's allies have spent millions on attack ads, and the president personally recruited Gallrein as a primary challenger after reportedly asking for "somebody with a warm body to beat Massie."
Yet despite this onslaught, Massie maintains he has spoken directly with Republican colleagues about what his victory would mean for their political calculus.
Massie framed the central tension in his upcoming race in stark terms: "This is going to be a referendum on whether it's okay to vote with your party 90 percent of the time or whether you have to do it 100 percent."