House Republican moderates aren’t mourning after Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie — a frequent thorn in President Donald Trump’s side — lost his primary, and they say his defeat won’t make them any less likely to break with the White House.
Republican centrists insist the intraparty revenge campaign against Massie won’t stop them from speaking out, and potentially voting against, the president’s agenda — even ahead of midterm elections.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), a moderate who represents a swing district outside Philadelphia, told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday that he didn’t believe Massie’s loss would have a chilling effect on GOP dissent. Another frequent Trump foil, Fitzpatrick faced the wrath of the president on Wednesday, when Trump told reporters that he “likes voting against Trump. You know what happens with that? It doesn’t work out well.”