Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has stepped down from the powerful Rules Committee in the House at the request of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) after he was the only Republican to vote against Johnson to remain as Speaker.

"I volunteered to step aside if the Speaker wanted to place someone else on the Rules Committee and he chose that option. This was not retribution for my vote against him," Massie posted on X.

"I look forward to continuing my work on the Judiciary and Transportation committees."

The Rules Committee controls which bills get a vote on the House floor and which amendments, if any, will be added to a bill.

The reasons

Massie did not make any friends by opposing Johnson. A source told Fox Digital that "98% of Republicans" wanted Massie off the committee.

Massie said he opposed Johnson because he relied on Democrat support to pass spending bills in the House.

His hardline position didn't seem to take into account that Republicans only had a one or two-seat majority during much of that time.

Besides, why is it bad to have bipartisan support for a bill? I guess Massie would rather get blamed for a government shutdown than compromise to get something done.

Other changes

Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) will take Massie's place on the committee. Griffith is a member of the House Freedom Caucus.

The decision took place when the House Republican Conference met Tuesday behind closed doors and voted on a new roster for the committee.

Other changes included making Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) the chairperson of the committee since Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) retired.

House Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) was also taken off the committee and replaced by freshman Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA).

Massie was only added to the committee in 2023 as part of an effort by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to increase conservative representation on it.

But that didn't work out too great since he was removed in October 2023 by some of those same conservatives.