Kentucky Republican Breaks With Trump Over Spending and Foreign Aid

Representative Thomas Massie is not backing down. The Kentucky Republican, facing a Trump-backed primary challenger, is making his case directly to voters: he is not just America First, he is America only.

The distinction matters. In an interview this week, Massie articulated a position that puts him at odds with both President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson on what he considers the most fundamental issue facing conservatives: spending.

“I am tired of sending money overseas,” Massie stated plainly. “I am tired of favoring foreign beef over U.S.A.-grown beef. I’m ready to be America only. And I think all congressmen should be that way.”

Here is where the logic becomes critical. Massie gave Trump credit for being America First on some fronts, but pulled no punches on where he believes the administration falls short. “When it comes to the beef, he is not America first. When it comes to sending money overseas to Ukraine and Israel, I think he needs to get back to his campaign promises and put America first. Because we’re not gonna make America great again by sending our money overseas.”

The fiscal hawk’s primary concern centers on spending increases. “I mean, I thought we were conservatives. Why are we spending more this year than Joe Biden spent in his last year? Actually, we’re spending about $200 billion dollars more,” Massie explained. The consequence, he argued, is inflation and higher interest rates. “And people are feeling that. You can’t gaslight them. You can’t tell them that things are getting cheaper when they’re not getting cheaper.”

Facts matter here. The White House pushed back hard against Massie’s assertions. White House spokesman Kush Desai accused Massie of “Fake Math,” pointing to the Working Families Tax Cut Act, which he claims cut mandatory spending by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Desai also noted that the budget deficit from April to September dropped 40 percent compared to the same period under Biden.

The White House statement went further, criticizing Massie for voting with Democrats against what they characterize as the biggest tax cut for working families in American history, including no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime pay, increased child tax credits, and permanence for the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts.

This represents a fundamental disagreement about what conservatism means in practice. Massie is making the argument that tax cuts without corresponding spending cuts are not conservative policy, they are simply deficit spending by another name. The White House is making the argument that delivering tax relief to working families while reducing the deficit compared to the previous administration represents real fiscal improvement.

Both cannot be entirely correct. Either spending is up $200 billion as Massie claims, or mandatory spending has been cut by $1.5 trillion over ten years as the White House asserts. The difference likely lies in the distinction between annual appropriations and long-term mandatory spending projections.

What remains undeniable is that Massie is willing to stand on principle even when it means opposing a president from his own party who commands significant loyalty among Republican voters. Whether Kentucky Republicans reward that independence or punish it remains to be seen.

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