White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that President Donald Trump wants to primary the two Republican congressmen who voted against the “big, beautiful bill.”
Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio voted against the sweeping tax and spending package backed by Trump, which is set to enact the economic agenda he campaigned on. Leavitt confirmed during the White House briefing that Trump wants to primary these two congressmen because he does not like to see “grandstanders” in Congress.
“I believe [Trump] does,” Leavitt said in response whether Trump wants to primary them. “And I don’t think he likes to see grandstanders in Congress. What’s the alternative, I would ask those members of Congress. Do they want to see a tax hike? Do they want to see our country go bankrupt? That’s the alternative of them trying to vote ‘no’ and the president believes that the Republican Party needs to be unified and the vast majority of Republicans clearly are and are listening to the president. They are trusting in President Trump as they should because there’s a reason he’s sitting in this Oval Office, it’s because he’s the unequivocal leader of the Republican Party.”
“And [he’s] not just a leader for Republicans, but all Americans. The president’s approval rating is at an all-time high right now and it’s because he knows how to deliver and Republicans like Thomas Massie and others should take note,” she continued.
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Massie and Davidson cited concerns about the impact the bill would have on the U.S. deficit, with Massie stating on the House floor that the legislation is a “debt bomb ticking.” The Kentucky congressman said the president and Leavitt are “campaigning against” him because he voted “on principle.”
“The big beautiful bill has issues. I chose to vote against it because it’s going to blow up our debt. For voting on principle, I now have the President AND his press Secretary campaigning against me from the White House podium,” Massie’s campaign said.
Davidson, citing similar concerns, said the bill will increase the deficit instead of spending.
“While I love many things in the bill, promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending,” Davidson wrote in a post on X. “Deficits do matter and this bill grows them now. The only Congress we can control is the one we’re in. Consequently, I cannot support this big deficit plan. NO.”
Davidson’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
House Freedom Caucus chairman Andy Harris, who expressed doubt that the bill would immediately pass, voted “present” on the House floor, stating there is “still a lot of work to be done” in cutting waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program.
The White House Office of Management and Budget said Wednesday that the failure to pass the legislation would be “ultimate betrayal.”
Multiple estimates stated that the legislation would add $3.8 trillion to the deficit. The bill intends to implement a $3.8 trillion tax cut, a no tax on tips or overtime policy and several changes to Medicaid in order to reduce the cost of the program for the poor and disabled.
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