'Absolute shellacking': Massie warns Republicans are sleepwalking into midterm disaster

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Thomas Massie, whose relationship with Trump soured after losing the Kentucky Republican primary to a Trump-backed challenger, warned on Friday, June 26, that Republicans could face a major setback in the midterms if the party doesn't "wake up."

The feud between President Trump and Thomas Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican, has been long-standing, as Massie has long refused to align with the Trump administration’s agenda.

Thomas Massie questions GOP election fraud claims after wins

Thomas Massie predicted an “absolute shellacking” for Republicans in midterms if they don’t “wake up,” and expressed that he doesn’t understand the election fraud cry when everything is controlled by Republicans.

“I think it’s ironic that we control the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the White House, and we’re yelling election fraud?” Massie, who lost his own primary earlier this year, told reporters outside the Capitol.

“I mean, we won all the damn elections, and we’re in charge. And what are we doing with it?” he added.

“The problem is we’re wasting our opportunity that the voters gave us,” he continued. “And the Republicans are going to pay for that in November. It’ll be an absolute shellacking if they don’t wake up.”

Massie's statement comes amid the allegations of electoral fraud by Democrats in the primary race, particularly in California.

The Trump administration has been trying to pass the SAVE Act amid electoral fraud allegations to impose new ID requirements to vote.

Trump’s push for Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act has also caused tension within the party, as Republicans in the Senate have said it does not have the support to move through the chamber, but Trump is pounding them to get it done.

Trump refuses to sign bipartisan housing bill over SAVE Act

Trump this week canceled a planned signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing bill, saying he would not sign the legislation until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act.

“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump has also refused to sign an extension of a key spy power under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without the SAVE America Act attached to it.

Massie, who is one of the most vocal Republican critics, said the party is wasting an opportunity to spark meaningful change despite controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House.