Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) did not pull any punches when outlining just how much the “game is rigged” when it comes to Congress.
The Kentucky representative stood up on Wednesday and went scorched earth in a long speech, detailing how certain bills and high-profile committee seats are for sale or “rent.” Massie outlined how people get chosen in a secure election, and then they come “and they realize the game is rigged.”
“They say, ‘Well the game is rigged, they’ve offered me some table scraps if I give my voting card to the Speaker or Minority Leader. What should I do,’” Massie explained. “‘I think I’ll give my voting card to the Minority Leader or the Speaker.’ Don’t get me wrong we get a few hall passes. You got to make it look good. ‘We’ll let you go on this bill, we understand you got a tough district and you made some promises. We got enough votes, the uniparty has enough votes on this bill, we’ll let you go vote how you want on this bill. We want you to come back, because you’re a good soldier. You do what you’re told.’”
He continued: “The day I got here and saw that this game is rigged, I said, ‘I’m not playing this game. I am going to tell people what is going on up here. I’m going to tell people how they sell committee seats. Yes. It’s actually kind of a misnomer; I shouldn’t tell you the committee seats are for sale – they’re for rent. If they were for sale maybe I could collect enough equity and get on to Ways and Means. But I don’t want to pay the rent on Ways and Means.”
Massie then detailed why certain committees fall where they do in the considerations. He slammed the fact that the Veterans Committee is viewed as lower tier because there isn’t money “falling out of their pockets” when they visit D.C.
“That’s what they tell you when you get here,” Massie finished. “Don’t get on this A Committee – by the way why is the Veterans Committee a C Committee? I never…well I know why they call it a C Committee up here. Because the veterans don’t have money falling out of their pockets here in Washington, D.C. when they come to visit. … So that’s the way it is. People get up here, the game is rigged. I decided not to play the game.”
Watch Massie’s commentary above.
