(Kitco News) – A rebel Republican Congressman who attempted to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson and has criticized Donald Trump staved off two challengers from within his own party last night, which may give new momentum to his campaign to abolish the Federal Reserve.
Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) beat his primary challengers handily on May 21, paving the way for the seven-time congressman to represent his deep-red district once again.
On May 16, in the midst of the primary campaign, Massie introduced the Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act, a piece of legislation that aims to abolish the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve banks. H.R. 8421 would also repeal the 1913 Federal Reserve Act that created the Federal Reserve System itself.
A day earlier, Massie put the introduction of the Act to a vote on his Twitter account, with over 86% of respondents urging him to do it.
Should I introduce a bill to abolish the Federal Reserve?
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 15, 2024
"Americans are suffering under crippling inflation, and the Federal Reserve is to blame," said Rep. Massie in a statement shortly after its introduction. "During COVID, the Federal Reserve created trillions of dollars out of thin air and loaned it to the Treasury Department to enable unprecedented deficit spending. By monetizing the debt, the Federal Reserve devalued the dollar and enabled free money policies that caused the high inflation we see today."
Massie referred to this monetization of debt as a “closely coordinated effort between the White House, Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Congress, Big Banks, and Wall Street.”
“Through this process, retirees see their savings evaporate due to the actions of a central bank pursuing inflationary policies that benefit the wealthy and connected,” he added. “If we really want to reduce inflation, the most effective policy is to end the Federal Reserve.”
H.R. 8421 was cosponsored by 20 other GOP members of Congress, including Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
The Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act was first introduced by former Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) in 1999. Massie is the first member of Congress to reintroduce it since 2013.
Last year, Rep. Massie introduced H.R. 24, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2023, to audit the Federal Reserve. H.R. 24 was also originally introduced by Ron Paul in 2009.
Massie’s primary challenge came after he drew the ire of many in the Republican establishment by breaking ranks with his own party on multiple occasions.
On Mar. 25, Massie accused Trump of “bullying” his colleague, Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL), in a post on X which has since been deleted.
"She endorsed [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis] for President but then endorsed Trump when DeSantis got out of the race,” Massie wrote. “More of my colleagues should call out these ridiculous bullying tactics.”
Trump had called for a primary challenger to Lee in a post on his Truth Social app on Mar. 24. “Any great MAGA Republicans looking to run against Laurel Lee in Florida’s 15th Congressional District?” the former President wrote. “IF SO, PLEASE STEP FORWARD!”
And earlier this month, Massie joined Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in threatening to rally GOP house members to oust Mike Johnson as speaker.
