Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) declared on Thursday that he would not vote for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to serve another term under any circumstances, even if his fingernails were pulled out.
During an interview with his ex-colleague on One America News Network’s The Matt Gaetz Show, former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz asked Massie, “If Chip Roy were asked to serve as chairman of the Rules Committee, would that be enough to get your vote for Mike Johnson?”
“Oh no,” Massie replied. “You can pull all my fingernails out, you can shove bamboo up in them, you can start cutting off my fingers. I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow, and you can take that to the bank.”
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Massie made similar remarks, declaring, “Even if he thinks he’s going to be the guy who does what Trump wants him to do—he’s not that good at it.”
The House is scheduled to vote on Friday to decide whether Johnson will serve another term as speaker.
Johnson met with several holdout Republicans on Thursday, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
According to reports, there are at least 16 Republicans who have refused to commit to voting for Johnson. Massie, however, is the only Republican member in the House who has publicly stated that he will not vote for the current speaker.
While it has been reported that President-elect Donald Trump has been working to “strike a deal” with Roy to secure his support and those of his allies for Johnson, others have reported that the speaker is not willing to “make any backroom deals” to secure another term.
Watch above via One America News.
