By: Rita Cook
WASHINGTON D.C. – Someone recently said when you don’t have anything to lose in politics you begin to tell the truth.
I might be paraphrasing that a bit, but if Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is any indication of that that statement it is a fact.
There is much ado about why Massie lost his May 19, 2026, Republican primary election to Ed Gallrein.
It has been said a major reason was that Gallrein was more American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) friendly than Massie was willing to be.
AIPAC is known for being a prominent bipartisan lobbying organization that advocates for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and if a politician has a different agenda they might be escorted from their political seat.
Whether you believe that or not, it is a fact that AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP) spent $4.1 million directly on advertisements to defeat Massie.
So now, with nothing to lose Massie has been on a role, although he has always been one of the few politicians in D.C. who seemed to have no problem sharing government dysfunction openly.
In fact, he often broke with GOP mindset voting against major Republican legislation, including Trump’s signature tax and spending bills.
Known as “Mr. No,” he has opposed foreign aid, military interventions, and conflicts involving nations like Iran.
So now are we seeing where his “no” ended him up.
Last week he introduced a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war.
No official vote was held to determine exactly how many lawmakers would have supported Massie’s privileged resolution to impeach Hegseth.
He filed the measure on September 15, and the House was on a 48-hour deadline to address it.
“By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” Massie said.
Speaker Mike Johnson chose to recess the House early, sending lawmakers home ahead of the midterm elections and blocking the impeachment call from reaching the floor for a formal vote.
Massie told The Hill “Frankly, I was concerned that Mike Johnson would end Congress again, like shorten even our already truncated work period if he found out I was doing this. So, I shared the idea with nobody.”
What might have happened otherwise is anyone’s guess since it was reported that before the resolution was introduced, seven House Republicans broke ranks to vote with Democrats on a separate successful measure seeking to curb the ongoing war in Iran.
And even though Massie acted independently on this resolution, Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari had already introduced a separate Hegseth impeachment resolution over foreign policy and alleged political retaliation. For her bill there were 16 Democratic co-sponsors.
In a nutshell Massie said, “The president ordered him (Hegseth) to wage war, but you don’t have to follow illegal orders, and he did so with glee.” While Massie is out and Hegseth is still in, November is right around the corner and before you take to the polls keep in mind AIPAC is bipartisan so whatever side of the political spectrum you prefer do you research on who owns your candidate.
Rita Cook is a world traveler and writer/editor who specializes in writing on travel, auto, crime and politics. A correspondent for Texas Metro News, she has published 11 books and has also produced low-budget films.
