Thomas Massie slams GOP for pushing 'election fraud' narrative ahead of midterms

Narratives surrounding rigged elections have amped up in GOP ranks ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, and both President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are strongly pushing for the SAVE (Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act) Act to rein in what they believe is "election fraud." Reacting to the development, Rep. Thomas Massie, who recently lost the GOP primary to Trump-backed Ed Gallrein, expressed concerns about his party's priorities. 

"The irony of Republicans controlling all branches of government while bankrupting the country, starting a war, sending money to fraudulent programs, violating the Constitution, giving corporations immunity...but arguing that the biggest problem we have is 'stolen elections'," Massie posted on X, calling out a host of Trump administration policies. 

After his defeat in the primary election, Massie directed his ire towards the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which had backed Gallrein in what became the most expensive GOP primary contest ever. The Republican lawmaker has been a strong critic of the President and has previously accused him of acting on Israel's behalf. After his election loss, he sarcastically claimed that it took him a while to find Gallrein in Tel Aviv, so that he could call him and concede the primary. Recently, reacting to a House Republican post pushing for the SAVE America Act, Massie commented, "Israel would like to have a word."

Notably, Massie's statement comes amid reports of the Trump administration planning to withhold federal homeland security funds from states that do not adopt a sweeping set of election changes. CNN reported that the move is part of President Trump's drive to root out "election fraud" from the country. The funds are expected to cross $1 billion in the current fiscal year, and help state governments protect residents against terror attacks, protect infrastructure, and prepare for natural disasters. If the administration's new election rules are not adhered to, states could lose 20% of grant money, which could potentially amount to millions in security funds.

The new guidelines being pushed by the Trump administration include phasing out certain electronic voting systems and moving to hand-marked paper ballots. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said that there would be no changes to the fund distribution process unless the correct protocols were followed. "No changes to grant requirements or funding distributions are official until they are formally announced and published through proper, authorized agency channels,” a spokesperson said. "Any recipient of federal funding should expect accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent."