Thomas Massie Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Thomas Massie

• He grew up in an Appalachian American culture.

• During his college days, he was a member of the MIT Solar Car Club, which finished second in a race at the Phoenix International Raceway in 1991.

• In 1992, he participated in the 2.70 (now 2.007) Design Competition of MIT and won.

• According to MIT professor Woodie Flowers, when Massie was in seventh grade, he decided to attend MIT and win the competition after watching it on TV.

• In 1993, he, along with his wife, founded SensAble Devices Inc., a business that allowed users to touch virtual objects on a screen.
  

  An old picture of Thomas Massie with his wife

• In the same year, he completed his graduation and wrote a thesis titled “Design of a three-degree-of-freedom force-reflecting haptic interface.”

• In 1996, the business changed its name to SensAble Technologies, Inc., after Bill Aulet became a partner.

• While running the business, he obtained 24 patents, hired 70 people, and raised $32 million in funding.

• In 1996, he completed his post-graduation and wrote a thesis titled ‘Initial haptic explorations with the phantom: virtual touch through point interaction.’

• In 2002, he appeared on the television reality show Junkyard Wars, which aired on TLC.
  

  Thomas Massie in a still from the television reality show Junkyard Wars (2002)

• In 2003, he sold SensAble Technologies.

• In 2010, Massie contested for Judge Executive of Lewis County elections.

• He won the primary elections and then defeated the Democratic Party candidate by 40 points.

• He also campaigned for Rand Paul, the then-U.S. Senate candidate. He spoke to various Tea Party groups on Paul’s behalf.

• On 1 July 2012, Massie resigned from his county position to contest for Congress. After his resignation, John Patrick Collins was appointed temporarily.

• In December 2011, Geoff Davis announced that he would retire from his seat in the 4th congressional district in Kentucky.

• On 10 January 2012, Massie announced that he would contest as a congressional candidate.

• He was supported by Rand Paul, Ron Paul, and groups like FreedomWorks, Club for Growth, Gun Owners of America, and Young Americans for Liberty.
  

  Thomas Massie with Rand Paul

• On 22 May 2012, Massie won the Republican nomination by a large margin. He thanked the Tea Party, liberty movement, and Reagan Republicans in his speech.

• He contested against Democratic party candidate Bill Adkins in the general election.

• On 31 July 2012, Geoff Davis resigned as a congressional candidate due to a family health issue.

• On 1 August 2012, Republicans officially chose Massie as their nominee for the special election, which was held on 6 November 2012, the same day as the regular election.

• Massie contested for two elections on the same day, one to finish Davis’s term, and one for a full new term.

• He won both elections by a large margin.

• On 13 November 2012, Massie was sworn in as a Congress candidate and received two months’ seniority over other new members.

• He became the first representative from the eastern Kentucky district in 45 years.

• He was assigned to three committees: Transportation and Infrastructure, Oversight and Government Reform, and Science, Space and Technology.

• Later, he became chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation.

• In May 2013, he was one of only 3 votes against the Stolen Valour Act.

• In December 2013, he was the only one to vote against the Undetectable Firearms Act.

• In March 2014, he voted against a bill that named Israel a strategic partner. He said that he opposed giving subsidies to foreign green energy companies.

• In May 2014, he demanded a full vote instead of a voice vote to honour golfer Jack Nicklaus. The bill was passed.

• In June 2014, he had voted ‘no’ over 324 times, earning the nickname “Mr. No” from Politico.

• In 2014, Thomas Massie introduced two bills to allow the transportation of raw milk between states where it’s already legal.

• He claimed that it was wrong that the federal government was arresting farmers who were moving raw milk between states where it was allowed.
  

  Thomas Massie and Jared Polis, while promoting ‘food freedom’ legislation by sharing a meal that includes hemp scones, raw milk, kombucha, and beef raised by Massie (August 2015)

• In 2014, he helped pass an amendment to block backdoor searches of online data and stop the NSA/CIA from asking tech companies to add spy tools in their products.

• In 2015, he voted ‘present’ on the Iran nuclear deal, saying the House had no power to approve or reject treaties.

• In 2015, he voted ‘present’ on the Iran nuclear deal, the only Republican not to oppose the Iran nuclear deal.

• In 2015, he introduced a bill to repeal the PATRIOT Act and FISA Amendments Act.

• In 2015, he introduced the PRIME Act to loosen the rules on meat processing within a state.

• He claimed that the federal rules forced farmers to use distant slaughterhouses, which raised costs, lowered meat quality, and made it harder to buy fresh, local meat.

• In November 2016, he was the only member to vote against renewing sanctions on Iran.

• In 2016, he was the only member to vote against extending sanctions on Iran.

• In 2017, he was one of three lawmakers to oppose a bill that imposed new sanctions on Iran, Russia, and North Korea.

• In February 2017, he introduced a bill to abolish the U.S. Department of Education.

• He then supported a bill to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency.

• In April 2017, he expressed doubt about Syrian President Assad’s role in a chemical attack.

• In May 2017, he was the only House member to vote against sanctions on North Korea.

• In July 2017, Massie joined a small group of lawmakers, including Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders, to oppose a sanctions bill against Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

• Donald Trump opposed the bill but still signed it into law.
  

  Thomas Massie with Donald Trump

• On 29 December 2017, Massie voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. He said that he supported tax cuts but not more government spending, as he was concerned about the $1.5 trillion debt increase predicted by the Congressional Budget Office.

• In October 2018, Massie spoke at the 60th anniversary of the John Birch Society, where he warned against government corruption and opposed a constitutional convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.

• On 26 March 2019, Massie was one of 14 Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to break Trump’s veto of ending the national emergency at the southern border.

• In 2019, Massie signed a letter to Donald Trump, along with Ro Khanna and Rand Paul, saying that it was time to stop military actions which were not approved by Congress.

• After that, he signed another letter asking Trump to end U.S. military involvement in Yemen and to support Senate Joint Resolution 7 based on the War Powers Act of 1973.

• The lawmakers said that the Saudi-led blockade in the war against Yemen’s Houthis was blocking food and supplies, which caused suffering and deaths among civilians.

• They requested that Trump sign the resolution to send a message to end the four-year war.

• On 10 April 2019, during a House hearing, Massie mocked former Secretary of State John Kerry’s Yale degree in political science. He called it ‘pseudoscience.’ He also called Kerry’s views on climate change ‘pseudoscience.’

• In July 2019, Massie was the only Republican to vote against a resolution which opposed the boycott of Israel (BDS movement).

• In November 2019, he was the only “no” vote on the Hong Kong Human Rights Act. He called it an ‘escalation’ with China.

• In December 2019, he was the only one to vote against the Uyghur Human Rights Act. He said that it was hypocritical to punish China while still doing business with it.

• In 2019, he was the only Republican to vote against criticising the BDS movement.

• In 2019, Massie was the only lawmaker to oppose a bill which rejected Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

• In 2019, he introduced a bill to let medical marijuana users own guns.

• On 27 March 2020, Massie forced House members to return in person to vote on a $2.2 trillion COVID aid package.

• In April 2020, he was one of five House members who voted against adding $320 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program.

• In July 2020, he opposed mandatory masks and vaccines.

• He was one of seven Republicans who decided not to challenge the 2020 election results.

• In July 2021, he voted against a bill to give more visas to Afghan allies; the bill passed easily.

• In September 2021, Massie was one of only 9 Democrats and the only Republican to vote against $1B for Israel’s Iron Dome defence system and other pro-Israel resolutions. 

• In December 2021, he was the sole vote against the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act.

• In March 2022, he was one of three to vote against supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty after Russia’s invasion.

• In 2022, he voted against Sweden and Finland joining NATO. He did not want the U.S. to pay for Europe’s defence.

• In May 2022, he was the only member to vote against a resolution criticising antisemitism and opposition to Israel. He said that it promoted censorship.

• In 2022, he introduced a bill to allow guns in school zones. He claimed that schools should set their own rules and that gun-free zones make schools less safe.

• He opposes Biden’s plan to regulate DIY gun kits. He claimed that the Constitution protects the right to make your own gun.

• In 2022, he posted a Christmas photo with guns, which drew criticism after the Oxford High School shooting. He later said that he did not intend to do so. He said,
  

  I was like: ‘Wow, the world’s not gonna see this. It’d be kinda fun to just share it.’ And I shared it, and I didn’t just kick the hornet’s nest, I agitated every hornet on the planet.”

• In October 2023, he was the only Republican who voted against support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

• In November 2023, he was the only member to vote against declaring Israel’s right to exist.

• In December 2023, he criticised the influence of AIPAC on U.S. politics and posted a meme against Zionism and U.S. patriotism.

• In March 2024, he was one of 9 Republicans to vote against criticising Russia’s kidnapping of Ukrainian children.

• In May 2024, AIPAC launched an ad campaign targeting Massie. The ad cost  $300,000.

• In July 2024, Massie boycotted Netanyahu’s U.S. Congress speech. He called it ‘political theatre.’ He said that U.S. military aid to Israel should end due to civilian deaths in Gaza.

• He wanted full audits of the Federal Reserve and introduced a bill to abolish it in 2024.

• He supported Ron DeSantis for the presidential position in 2024.

• On 11 March 2025, Donald Trump criticised Massie on Truth Social. He called him a ‘grandstander.’

• In March 2025, the Supreme Court rejected his view in a 7-2 ruling, which ended his interpretation.

• Massie supports limiting U.S. military action abroad and believes that Congress should approve wars, not the President.

• He once pushed to end U.S. involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, and Egypt, and opposed sending military aid to Syria.

• He often opposes foreign sanctions. According to him, the U.S. should not interfere in the internal matters of other countries.

• Thomas Massie often denies the scientific agreement on climate change. He opposes environmental regulations and supports breaking up the EPA. 

• He has mocked climate concerns publicly, voted against climate-related defence spending and water protection rules. He has criticised global efforts such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

• Thomas Massie opposes the PATRIOT Act and warrantless spying on Americans.

• Massie supports a pardon for Edward Snowden and wants James Clapper prosecuted for lying to Congress about mass surveillance.

• Thomas Massie supports fewer gun control laws.

• Massie advocates for judges to have more discretion in sentencing, rather than strict mandatory minimums.

• He opposes civil asset forfeiture, calling it unconstitutional.

• He was the only one to vote against some major human rights acts (like Hong Kong, Uyghur rights). He said that the U.S. should not interfere in other countries.

• He pushed to declassify 28 pages of a 9/11 investigation.

• He is a strong critic of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

• He believes that the government could not force vaccinations and supports industrial hemp farming.

• He was the only one to vote against the Uyghur Act, the Hong Kong Democracy Act, and the Myanmar Coup Resolution.

• He once called French President Macron a “globalist alarmist.”

• He often describes himself as a constitutional conservative and libertarian and votes against his own Republican Party (e.g., on speaker elections).

• He owns a Tesla and uses its battery for home power. He calls himself the ‘greenest member of Congress.”

• He is a Methodist.