Massie: Republicans need to ‘wake up’ to avoid ‘absolute shellacking’ in midterms

House Massie: Republicans need to ‘wake up’ to avoid ‘absolute shellacking’ in midterms by Finya Swai - 06/26/26 9:05 AM ET Link copied by Finya Swai - 06/26/26 9:05 AM ET Link copied

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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-K.Y.) warned Thursday that Republicans could suffer major losses in November if the party doesn’t “wake up,” predicting an “absolute shellacking” for the GOP in the midterm elections.

“I think it’s ironic that we control the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the White House, and we’re yelling election fraud?” Massie, who lost his own primary to a Trump-backed challenger earlier this year, told reporters outside the Capitol. “I mean, we won all the damn elections and we’re in charge. And what are we doing with it?”

“The problem is we’re wasting our opportunity that the voters gave us,” he continued. “And the Republicans are going to pay for that in November. It’ll be an absolute shellacking if they don’t wake up.”

His comments come amid growing tensions within the party over President Trump’s push for Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, which would impose new ID requirements to vote. Republicans in the Senate have said it does not have the support to move through the chamber, but Trump is pounding them to get it done.

Trump this week canceled a planned signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing bill, saying he would not sign the legislation until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act.

“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump has also refused to sign an extension of a key spy power under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without the SAVE America Act attached to it.

The president’s repeated calls to pass the SAVE America Act have frustrated Republicans, as it has already failed five times on the floor.

Massie, one of Trump’s most vocal Republican critics, said the party is wasting an opportunity to spark meaningful change despite controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House.

The Kentucky lawmaker lost his primary race to a Trump-backed opponent, after the president had sought to oust Massie from Congress for routinely defying him.

Massie has left the door open to run for office again in 2028. He filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission, less than a week after losing his race, to raise funds to continue his current political operations.

“I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run,” he said.

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