A lone Republican in Congress has bucked his party to repeatedly stand with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and other far-left, stridently pro-Palestinian “Squad” members.
Libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has voted three times against Israel and against condemning antisemitism since Hamas’ surprise terrorist attack on Oct. 7 left 1,200 Israeli civilians dead.
“He probably votes with the squad more than any other Republican in the House,” said one frustrated GOP Capitol Hill insider. “He votes no on everything and because Republicans control the House, the squad is also going to be voting no on everything.”
On Oct. 25 the House voted to condemn Hamas by an overwhelming margin of 412-10.
Nine of the 10 dissenters were Democrats, including Ocasio-Cortez (Bronx), Tlaib (Mich.), Rep. Cori Bush (Mo.), Rep. Ilham Omar (Minn.) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-Westchester).
Massie, 52, was the lone Republican naysayer, and said on X he was opposed to the measure because of its call for sanctions, which he called a “prelude to war.”
On Nov 2. the House passed a resolution condemning support of Hamas and Hezbollah on college campuses.
The vote was decided by another overwhelming 396-23 margin. The dissenters included AOC, Tlaib, Omar, and other House progressives, while the sole Republican opposition came from Massie.
His opposition this time, Massie said on X, was based on free-speech grounds.
That same day, the House approved a $14.3 billion aid package to Israel to assist the country’s war against Hamas. Massie again bucked his colleagues and sided with squad members to oppose the measure.
Massie, who has served the Bluegrass State in Congress since 2012, said he was a no because of longstanding opposition to foreign aid.
“We simply can’t afford it,” he posted to X.
Massie also closed ranks with the squad and House Democrats by voting against the censure of Tlaib, after the congresswoman publicly defended calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.
The measure passed — with 22 Democrats joining 212 Republicans to get it over the finish line.
Massie said his vote was based on free-speech grounds.
In 2019, he joined the squad in opposing a bill condemning the antisemitic Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
He was again the only Republican to do so.
In May 2022, he said no to a House resolution broadly condemning antisemitism. The vote was 420-to-1 — he stood alone in opposition.
Massie, the son of a West Virginia beer distributor, earned two engineering degrees from MIT, holds two dozen patents, and was a small business owner before getting into Congress.
He lives in an off-the-grid house in rural Kentucky that he built himself.
“I just wanted to be left alone, and do whatever I wanted,” he said explaining the evolution of his beliefs to the Austrian Economics Center in a 2018 interview. “Libertarian is not part of the vocabulary where I live, but people understand freedom, in fact, in eastern Kentucky, the notion is ‘You mind your own business, and your neighbors mind their business,’ so even though they wouldn’t say they are libertarian ideologues, they would say they would mind their own business. So I found a lot of sympathetic people there, they encouraged me to run for office.”
Being a perennial “no” vote has made Massie one of the least effective members of Congress according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking.
During his decade in the chamber he has never been the primary sponsor of a bill that has become law, records show.
“The greatest challenge to the US-Israel relationship comes not only from the far left but also from the far right. Thomas Massie is Exhibit A for the growing Anti-Israel isolationism of the far right,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx) — one of the most pro-Israel members in Congress today.
Massie has also stirred the ire of many of the same Israel activists — now launching primary challenges against squad members.
Last week United Democracy Project, a pro-Israel super PAC affiliated with AIPAC announced a six-figure ad buy targeting Massie — and two other far-left members.
“Their constituents deserve to know that these members of Congress refused to vote on the House floor to condemn the horrific Hamas terrorism attacks on October 7,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for the PAC, told Jewish Insider.
Massie’s office declined to comment instead, pointing to his statements on X.