For a long time, Representative Thomas Massie confidently defied an ironclad law of modern Republican politics'that to oppose President Trump was to start a ticking clock on your electoral career. 'I'm not worried about losing,' he told me last spring inside the Capitol, as he explained to a group of reporters the strength of his support within his Kentucky district. Massie had already angered Trump just a few months into the president's second term, after clashing with him during his first. Massie voted against government-funding bills, criticized the president's tariffs, and would soon become one of the only Republicans in Congress to oppose Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the fiscally hawkish Massie deemed irresponsible. Trump lashed out at Massie and vowed to find a primary opponent to defeat his bid for an eighth term; as early as last summer, the president's allies stood up a political-action committee to run ads attacking Massie in his district. Still, Massie...
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