Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., the lawmaker who forced members of Congress to travel back to Washington to vote on a $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package, on Tuesday said the 2020 election has caused certain GOP lawmakers to “abandon some of their conservative principles.”
“The last two bills have been like blood transfusions to a bleeding patient, and the problem is we haven’t stopped the bleeding yet — the patient is our economy,” he told Fox News. “What we need to do is we need to stop the bleeding. We need to get America back to work and that’s the only thing that’s going to turn everything around.
“I don’t think it colors the president’s disposition toward these bills,” Massie continued. “He never campaigned as a fiscal conservative, but a lot of my colleagues did, and I do believe the fact it is an election year has caused them to abandon some of their conservative principles.”
Massie faced scorching criticism for his refusal to allow emergency action on the pandemic vote, including from President Donald Trump.
But Massie is still urging transparency and accountability with the coronavirus support packages.
“We need to make sure all elected officials are accountable so that when the popularity for these bills turns, then they can sort the wheat from the chaff at the ballot box,” he said.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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