A massive catastrophe is on the horizon for the White House. J.D. Vance is trying to steer clear.
That’s why the Vice President is scrambling to save the Trump admin from this total disaster.
Update: Spending Measure passes in the House
Vice President JD Vance Rallies House Republicans to Support Spending Measure
On Tuesday morning, March 12, Vice President JD Vance met with House Republicans during their weekly GOP House conference gathering. The purpose of this visit, as reported by NBC News, is to drum up support for a spending measure known as a “continuing resolution.” This legislation aims to prevent an impending government shutdown by ensuring federal operations remain fully funded beyond the looming deadline of midnight on Friday. A final vote in the full House chamber was scheduled for later in the day.
The continuing resolution, if approved, would secure government funding through September, providing a temporary reprieve from the fiscal uncertainty that has gripped Washington. President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the measure over the weekend, urging all Republicans to back it. Multiple aides to Trump have been actively reaching out to undecided GOP House members, working to shore up votes for the plan, according to NBC News.
With the Republican margin in the House razor-thin, the stakes are high. If more than one House Republican opposes the measure, Speaker Mike Johnson will need to rely on Democratic votes to push it through—a scenario that could complicate party dynamics. Should the House succeed in passing the legislation, it will then move to Senate negotiators for approval before landing on Trump’s desk for his signature.
During his address to House Republicans, Vance delivered a stark warning just hours before the anticipated vote on this seven-month funding patch. According to three individuals present at the private meeting, he told lawmakers that Republicans would bear the blame for a government shutdown if they failed to pass the bill. “We already lost one vote, we can’t lose another,” Vance said, referencing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has publicly declared his firm opposition to the plan. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that Vance stressed the limited room for dissent given the tight vote count.
Vance also tied the immediate need to pass the funding bill to the GOP’s larger legislative ambitions. He argued that approving the stopgap measure would pave the way for a significant domestic policy bill currently in development—one that Republicans see as a cornerstone of their agenda. Failure to act, he cautioned, would sap momentum on key issues like border security and erode trust with voters. Additionally, Vance reassured members that Trump remains committed to slashing federal spending through his Department of Government Efficiency initiative and by pursuing impoundment, a strategy of withholding funds already allocated by Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, in a brief interview as he left the meeting, described Vance’s message as “very well-received.” However, he suggested that most GOP members have already solidified their positions on the vote, set for 4 p.m. When pressed on the number of holdouts, Johnson estimated there were only “one or two” Republicans still on the fence.
The outcome of Tuesday’s vote will determine whether the government continues to function smoothly or plunges into a shutdown, with political consequences hanging in the balance for the Republican Party. As Vance and Johnson work to unify their ranks, the clock is ticking toward Friday’s deadline.
The Unyielding Defiance of Thomas Massie Against Trump’s Wrath
President Donald Trump has wielded immense influence over Republican lawmakers, often steering them with a single online post. For most GOP members, the faintest suggestion of a threat—like Trump declaring someone “SHOULD BE PRIMARIED”—is enough to ensure compliance. But Representative Thomas Massie stands apart, a rare figure unshaken by the president’s bluster.
On Monday night, the 54-year-old former robotics engineer dismissed precisely such a warning from Trump, who pledged to “lead the charge” against him. The provocation? Massie’s refusal to support a spending bill championed by Trump and pushed by House Republican leaders. Speaking to reporters the following day, Massie greeted the threat with a wry smile and a quip: “He’s going after Canada and me today. The difference is Canada will eventually cave.”
Massie’s nonchalance is hard-earned. Five years ago, in March 2020, he faced a nearly identical onslaught from Trump after forcing House members to return to Washington for an in-person vote on a Covid-19 response bill amid the pandemic’s early days. Trump branded him a “third-rate grandstander” and called for his expulsion from the Republican Party. Undeterred, Massie easily fended off a primary challenger—assisted, in part, by his opponent’s record of racist online posts.
After the spending bill passed on Tuesday evening, Massie drew a parallel to that earlier standoff. “It feels just like” the day he opposed the pandemic bill, he remarked, adding that “the missives directed at me weren’t to get me to change my vote — I never change my vote.” Instead, he speculated, “I think they were to try and keep the other Republicans in line until they get this over to the Senate.” Trump, in a follow-up post that day, doubled down, again calling Massie a “grandstander” and mockingly placing his title of “Congressman” in quotation marks.
Since surviving that first MAGA barrage, Massie has only solidified his reputation as a maverick. He secured a seat on the House Rules Committee through a deal brokered by hard-right members with then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, gaining significant influence over which bills reached the House floor. Later, he turned on McCarthy’s successor, Mike Johnson, taking a prominent role in an unsuccessful bid to unseat him as speaker when the new Congress convened in January. Amid these battles, Massie stepped away from the Rules Committee—and endured a personal tragedy with the death of his wife, Rhonda, his high school sweetheart. “I don’t know how to say this without cussing,” he recently told the Wall Street Journal. “If they thought I had no Fs to give before, I definitely have no Fs to give now.”
Online Tuesday, Massie fired back at Trump, labeling a critical post “misleading” but carefully avoiding direct blame, attributing it instead to “a tweet from Trump’s account.” He further clarified that he didn’t view the opposed House legislation as part of “Trump’s agenda.” In an interview, he leaned into the clash with relish: “I had the Trump antibodies for a while — I needed a booster.”
Yet Massie’s immunity to a full-scale political assault from Trump remains untested. In 2020, Trump, preoccupied with his own reelection, didn’t heavily engage in Massie’s race, and by 2022, he endorsed him as a “conservative warrior.” This time, however, the attack arrived with a prelude of criticism from Trump’s top strategist, Chris LaCivita, hinting at a potentially more concerted effort to unseat the Kentuckian.
Beyond the spending bill dispute, Massie has given Trump and his allies other reasons to target him. He was among six House members to back Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid—a move that cost another endorser, Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, his seat after Trump supported his primary opponent last year. Massie, however, retains a deep well of support among libertarian-leaning, anti-spending Republicans who rose through the tea party movement and have since aligned with MAGA. This week, allies like Senator Mike Lee of Utah defended him, with Lee praising Massie as someone who “has worked harder than perhaps any member of Congress to bring federal spending under control.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson offered tepid backing: “Look, I’m in the incumbent protection program here,” he said. “Thomas and I have had disagreements, but I consider Thomas Massie a friend.” He quickly added, “I just vehemently disagree with his position. But I’ll leave it at that.”
Whether Trump will make good on his threats remains uncertain. He recently issued similar warnings against other dissenting Republicans, like Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, without swiftly acting on them. Trump’s track record suggests his congressional grudges often fade. Massie, for his part, seemed unfazed when asked if Trump’s anger would endure. “It’ll blow over,” he predicted.
For now, Thomas Massie stands as a singular figure—a lawmaker who thrives on defying the most powerful Republican of the century, armed with little more than a shrug, a sharp wit, and an unshakable resolve.
