Northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie lone GOP 'no' vote on House Speaker Mike Johnson

Tessa Duvall, Lexington Herald-Leader on Jan 3, 2025

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Rep. Thomas Massie, the Northern Kentucky Republican who represents the 4th District in Congress, was the sole Republican to vote against Mike Johnson in his effort to retain his role as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.

Massie had made his intent to vote against Johnson clear for weeks, even as President-elect Donald Trump threw his endorsement behind the Louisiana congressman to retain the speaker’s gavel.

The final tally was 218 votes for Johnson, 215 for Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Massie’s single vote for Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota.

Ahead of the vote on the first day of the 119th Congress, Massie promised to be a, “Hell no,” on Johnson in a social media post.

“I respect and support President Trump, but his endorsement of Mike Johnson is going to work out about as well as his endorsement of Speaker Paul Ryan,” Massie wrote on X in late December. “We’ve seen Johnson partner with the Democrats to send money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans and blow the budget.”

Two other Republicans — Keith Self of Texas and Ralph Norman of South Carolina — initially joined Massie in opposing Johnson, but changed their votes before the vote closed.

Massie, known for his contrarian streak, and has found himself voting against his fellow Republicans before.

He has represented the 4th District since 2012.

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