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President Donald Trump is calling for primary challengers to take on Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio, after the two lawmakers opposed his “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which passed the House early Thursday morning.
The final vote on the measure was 215-214, with one lawmaker voting “present.” The bill includes major tax cuts, increased defense spending and deep reductions to some domestic programs, making it one of the most significant legislative victories of Trump’s second term.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the dissent during a Thursday press briefing, stating: “The president believes the Republican Party needs to be unified, and a vast majority of Republicans clearly are — and are listening to the president. They are trusting in President Trump as they should because there’s a reason he’s sitting in this Oval Office.”
Trump, who has made party loyalty a central theme of his leadership, has grown increasingly frustrated with GOP opposition. Shortly after the vote, he took to Truth Social to rebuke Massie and Davidson, accusing them of undermining Republican progress and threatening to back primary opponents who align more closely with his vision.
Rep. Massie defended his vote in a floor speech and on social media, criticizing the legislation as fiscally irresponsible. “I’m here to deliver a dose of reality,” Massie said. “This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near term, but promises our government will be fiscally responsible five years from now. Where have we heard that before? How do you bind a future Congress to these promises? This bill is a debt bomb ticking.”
Davidson posted similar concerns on X: “While I love many things in the bill, promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending. Deficits do matter and this bill grows them now. The only Congress we can control is the one we’re in. Consequently, I cannot support this big deficit plan.”
As of Friday morning, the Big Beautiful Bill Act has moved to the Senate, where Republicans need just 51 votes to send it to the president.
