Republican frustration over President Donald Trump’s priorities spilled out into public Monday as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) took a direct shot at Speaker Mike Johnson(R-LA).
Johnson wrote on X that the House was moving forward with the “SAVE and Protect America Act” — a package he said would secure elections, strengthen national defense and support farmers ahead of the August recess.
Massie fired back at the Speaker’s post, the first time he had called Johnson out personally on the measure.
“He’s talking about a spending bill that’s $75 billion for military expenses in Iran,” Massie wrote on X. “It has a $10 billion bribe to states for election security — NOT the SAVE Act. Don’t fall for it.”
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, has been a top Trump priority. But Massie said the reconciliation package does not actually contain the legislation — just a $10 billion fund that states can choose to tap, a distinction the Associated Press also confirmed.
Massie’s bigger concern was a separate provision in the National Defense Authorization Act — the annual Pentagon policy bill Johnson is also moving this week. Section 219 of that bill would deepen military cooperation between the United States and Israel across artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, weapons development and defense procurement, Military.com reported.
Massie has previously tried to strip Section 219 from the bill, Military.com reported. He called the SAVE Act pitch a distraction from that fight.
“It’s a bright shiny object used to give my colleagues cover for voting to proceed on an NDAA that compromises American sovereignty,” Massie wrote.
“Most Republicans in the House will knuckle under the threat of being called someone who voted against ‘a bill that advanced the SAVE Act,’” he added.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), the House Freedom Caucus policy chair and a member of the Rules Committee, also raised concerns about the election piece of the bill. Roy said his support depended on the SAVE Act being “a mandatory requirement at each and every stage, not merely an optional policy incentivized through funding,” The Hill reported.
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) described the package as “a Trump requested $93 billion dollar bill that gives the Pentagon $60 billion for the Iran War that has now killed 17 US service members and injured over 430 more,” writing on X earlier Monday.
“So much winning with maga..,” Greene wrote.
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