Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Rep. Thomas MassieR-Ky., no longer serves on the powerful House Rules Committee after he was the only Republican to vote against Speaker Mike Johnson in the House leadership election.
“I volunteered to stand aside if the speaker wanted to place someone else on the Rules Committee and he chose that option. This was not retribution for my no vote,” Massie posted to X.
“I look forward to continuing my work on the judiciary and transportation committees.”
The Rules Committee controls which bills reach the House for a vote. Massie, a hardline libertarian, had said he would voluntarily step down from the panel after opposing Johnson for speaker because Johnson had relied on Democratic support to pass major spending bills.
MASSIE FALLS ON JOHNSON HOLDING THE SPEAKER’S RACK
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is seen outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
But Massie’s hardline positions have often isolated him from the rest of the GOP conference. One Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital, “98 percent of the conference wanted Massie out of the rules.”
The House Republican Conference met behind closed doors Tuesday morning and voted on a new commission slate. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., a member of the House Freedom Caucus, has succeeded Massie on the Rules Committee.
House Judiciary Committee members Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., listen as U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before the committee in the Rayburn House offices on Capitol Hill on June 4, 2024, in Washington, DC (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Also, Rep. Virginia Foxx, RNC, the former chairwoman of the Education and Workforce Committee, will lead the panel after Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, retires.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., the GOP House deputy, was also removed from the committee and replaced by freshman Rep. Brian Jack, R-Ga.
THOMAS MASSIE, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATORS VOCALLY OPPOSE TRUMP’S DEA NOMINEE
Massie ran against Mike Johnson for re-election as Speaker of the House. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Massie was first appointed to the Rules Committee along with Rep. Chip RoyR-Texas and Rep. Ralph Norman, RSC, as part of a deal with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in January 2023 to expand conservative representation, part of a broader commitment for McCarthy to win his short life as Speaker of the House.
The House Rules Committee is the final stop for bills before a full House vote. The committee and its chairman are responsible for dictating the terms of a bill’s debate and which amendments, if any, will also be voted on.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
After a bill is approved by the House Rules Committee, it is subject to a “rules vote” by the entire House to allow debate on the legislation before a vote on final passage.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
