Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) dubbed himself “NostraThomas” after Home Republicans unveiled a extremely anticipated spending invoice Tuesday to avert a authorities shutdown.
“People call me ‘NostraThomas’ for accurately predicting @SpeakerJohnson would use the Christmas recess to force a massive spending bill through Congress,” Massie mentioned Tuesday on social platform X. “After claiming he would not, Johnson is embracing a D.C. tradition that’s nearly as old as decorating Christmas trees.”
Massie was referring to Nostradamus, a French astrologer recognized for allegedly predicting the long run.
In his submit, the Kentucky Republican shared a video compilation of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) saying in September that there can be no “Christmas omnibus,” and himself over time highlighting how typically Congress comes right down to the wire earlier than the vacations to cross authorities funding laws.
On Tuesday night, congressional leaders struck a bipartisan deal to maintain the federal government open previous the Dec. 20 deadline. The laws extends the Friday deadline to March 14, however many should not proud of the last-minute deal.
The package deal contains a host of add-ons, together with a farm invoice extension, catastrophe aid and financial help for farmers.
Johnson braced lawmakers for the incoming package deal, significantly conservatives who’ve referred to as for brand new spending to be offset with financial savings.
Within the video shared by Massie, he highlights a earlier interview wherein he predicted the spending invoice would fall simply days earlier than Congress breaks for the vacations.
“They always say, ‘if you vote for this, you can go home and open presents with your family and if you don’t vote for this, we’re going to be here over Christmas because the optics are bad,’” Massie mentioned, including that “nobody’s going to bring their family to D.C. over Christmas, so they’re … like the Grinch.”
“Some people call me NostraThomas for predicting this,” he continued. “We could find clips of me predicting this every year. It’s not a prediction, it’s just how the swamp works.”
Massie added that if Congress is shocked by the September fiscal spending deadline and the eventual kick to December, is sort of a “florist being surprised by Valentine’s Day.”
“It happens every year. Prepare for it,” he mentioned.
