WASHINGTON — In the span of 24 hours this week, Thomas Massie plotted legislative strategy with un-elected outsider Vivek Ramaswamy, outlined his opposition to Mike Johnson remaining speaker of the House and issued a warning against a pursuit of tax cuts by President-elect Donald Trump.

For those familiar with the rebellious conservative northern Kentucky congressman, this is standard operating procedure.

But as Republicans ready to take complete control of Washington in one month, Massie’s trademark contrarianism is already shaping up to be a pivotal wildcard in Trump’s second term.

“He’s now involved with DOGE and closely linked to MAHA,” said Zach Henry, a Republican operative who worked on Ramaswamy’s presidential campaign, referring to the incoming Trump administration’s planned efforts to slash government and improve Americans’ health. “(He) will have the ability to single-handedly steer the House as he chooses in the upcoming Congress.”

The reality is that Massie remains more often a “no” vote than not, even with his party in power. And with House Republicans expected to have a one or two seat majority next year, his lone opposition could imperil a host of legislative initiatives, including mandatory spending bills to keep the government open and borrowing permission to avoid breaching the debt limit.

Even the threat of a fight with the incoming president may not temper Massie’s position. After all, when he was last in Trump’s crosshairs in 2020, he batted away a primary challenger in the 4th Congressional District without a sweat. His win margin: 62 points.

“I have Republican colleagues who’d rather run over their own mom with a car than to vote to cut spending,” Massie told WABC radio in New York City. “My colleagues think this place is a hot tub. I’m telling you, it’s a swamp here in D.C.”

Massie was among the 38 Republicans who voted down a Trump-blessed spending plan to keep the government open Thursday night and is unlikely to sign on to any deal that lumps together special provisions like hurricane disaster relief and aid to farmers with temporary appropriations.

“Separate the bills and vote on them individually,” he posted on X. “Radical right? Individual bills for each issue.”

As House leaders struggled to negotiate a spending bill that could net enough Republicans or Democrats to prevent a federal government shutdown before Christmas, Massie coined a new nickname for himself: “NostraThomas,” for predicting Johnson would attempt to force a vote on “massive spending.”

It’s a breach that has cost Johnson Massie’s vote when the new Congress convenes after the New Year to select a speaker.

Six months ago, Massie was part of a brief unsuccessful movement to oust Johnson, who survived in part due to protection from Republicans who wanted to avoid upheaval during a presidential election year.

But as of Friday, he is the only House Republican who has publicly declared his intention to vote against Johnson.

The anti-Johnson movement also received a boost from Rand Paul, who noted that the speaker need not be a member of Congress, allowing billionaire Elon Musk to ascend to the role.

Massie also spent the week shoring up his ties to Musk and Ramaswamy, holding a private meeting with the latter on the still unsanctioned Department of Government Efficiency, which strives to slash government bureaucracy by $2 trillion during the first two years of Trump’s presidency.

Massie suggested Ramaswamy use artificial intelligence to help with understanding how to best push their cuts through the U.S. Senate, whose rules could be an obstacle to such radical changes.

After meeting with Massie, Ramaswamy described their gathering as “the closest thing to love at first sight.”

Even as they are aligned on spending cuts, Massie also unfurled another statement that is less likely to be viewed favorably in Mar-a-Lago.

He told reporters on Capitol Hill that Republicans shouldn’t extend the expiring tax cuts from Trump’s first term, an allocation that would cost $4.6 trillion.

“To say that we need to be worrying about tax cuts sounds ridiculous to me,” he said.

That preemptive resistance within the GOP ranks could prove to be the enduring challenge of the first year of Trump’s second term.

“He can’t pass his tax cuts, he can’t pass the major changes until he figures out how to have a working majority and whether you can do that with a Republican Party that has at least 20 members who will capriciously vote no on everything,” said Newt Gingrich on the 2Way livestream Friday morning.

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