Thomas Massie: ‘Mike Johnson Is the Next Paul Ryan’

“Mike Johnson is the next Paul Ryan,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said on Monday before President-elect Donald Trump endorsed the Speaker.

Massie, the first member of the House to publicly state that he will not back Johnson as Speaker on January 3, has continued to sound the alarm following Johnson’s disastrous spending deal, the final version of which was not opposed by a single Democrat.

In Monday’s post, Massie drew parallels between Johnson and former Speaker Paul Ryan, who is now widely known to be anti-Trump.

“On January 3rd, 2017, Paul Ryan was elected Speaker by every Republican except me. Ryan went on to offer a fake repeal of ObamaCare, increased spending, backed the deep state, and didn’t fund a wall,” Massie said.

“Two years later we lost the majority and democrats made a living hell for Trump,”  he continued, predicting that “Mike Johnson is the next Paul Ryan.”

“On January 3rd, 2025, I won’t be voting for Mike Johnson. I hope my colleague will join me because history will not give America another ‘do-over,” he warned.

Hours later, Trump released a formal endorsement of Johnson in light of the blowback over his poorly negotiated spending deal before Christmas.

“LETS NOT BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN. The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man,” Trump said.

“He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!” he continued.

It remains unclear if Trump’s endorsement will pull Johnson over the finish line, as other lawmakers have been more cryptic about which way they will fall when it is crunch time.

“I understand why President Trump is endorsing Speaker Johnson as he did Speaker Ryan, which is definitely important. However, we still need to get assurances that @SpeakerJohnson won’t sell us out to the swamp,” Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) said in a statement, sharing an article from 2016 which detailed Trump backing both Ryan and the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

“President Trump will be able to save America only if we have a speaker with courage, vision and a plan – also public commitment to the American people how he will help deliver President Trump’s agenda to drain the swamp,” she added, releasing a formal statement with similar sentiments.

The speakership vote is January 3.