President Donald Trump has named Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) the “worst Republican congressman” in a scathing post on Truth Social, escalating a high-profile GOP feud that’s unfolding as Massie leads a vocal push to declassify the Epstein files—an effort that has gained support from tech mogul Elon Musk.
In a fiery message posted Tuesday, July 22, President Trump tore into Massie, calling him “lazy, slow moving, and totally disingenuous,” and vowed to back a strong primary challenger in Kentucky’s 4th District. “Looking for someone good to run against this guy, someone I can Endorse and vigorously campaign for!” the president wrote.
Massie, a libertarian-leaning congressman who’s served since 2012, has frequently broken with Trump in recent months—including being one of just two House Republicans to vote against Trump’s recent “Big Beautiful Bill.” According to GovTrack, Massie has missed 3% of roll call votes since taking office.
Though Trump didn’t mention it in his Truth Social post, Massie has also drawn attention—and controversy—for leading efforts to unseal files tied to Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 child sex trafficking case. His aggressive push to force a vote on releasing the evidence reportedly prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson to adjourn Congress early for the summer recess to block further debate.
Outside the Capitol, Massie stood firm amid the political backlash. “They’re trying to beat up on me to keep everybody else in line here,” he said. “I think it’s not working… This will be a referendum on whether the executive branch controls the legislative branch.”
Despite Trump’s vow to unseat him, Massie remains confident. “It’s gonna backfire tremendously,” he told reporters. “They’re wasting millions of dollars trying to beat me, and in doing so they may lose the House majority.”
Notably, Massie has found an ally in Elon Musk, who recently vowed on X to support primary challengers to Republicans who backed Trump’s debt-increasing spending bill. When a user asked if that included supporting Massie, Musk responded simply: “I will.”
While Musk has since deleted past posts that appeared to link Trump to the Epstein case, his earlier rhetoric included one explosive June message that read, “Time to drop the really big bomb. @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.” Musk later walked back the statement, saying some of his remarks had “gone too far.”
Massie, for his part, is undeterred. He insists the fight is not just about politics but about principle. “I’m going to prevail,” he said. “And what they’re going to find out is, it will embolden members of Congress to go with their heart, their mind, and their constituents—not just toe the party line.”
