Massie: In a Constitutional Republic, Congress Makes Law Not Bureaucrats

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s invalidation of a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) is driving home the point that making laws is the duty of Congress, not regulatory bureaucrats.

The court’s 6-3 decision was authored by Justice Clarence Thomas and ruled that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) wrongly classified firearms equipped with bump stocks as machine guns. The ATF enacted a ban on the devices following the Oct 2017 mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas.

Massie tweeted a reminder that the separation of powers within the federal government still matters.

In our Constitutional republic, Congress makes the laws, not the administrative branch.

The Supreme Court just acknowledged this in a 6 to 3 decision invalidating Trump’s bump-stock ban. https://t.co/YbRa8j6ux1

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 14, 2024

In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, the Biden administration called upon Congress to ban assault weapons and bump stocks.

Massie has also been vocal about other regulatory agencies making rules that carry the force of law.

The Kentucky Congressman has been an outspoken opponent of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) overstepping its bounds by mandating electronic ear tags for all cattle in the U.S.

The USDA overstepped its authority by promulgating a rule requiring the electronic tagging of cattle. Congress writes the laws, not bureaucrats guided by corporate cronies. I will not comply. pic.twitter.com/eI9cLzwlZl

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 14, 2024

Massie has joined with Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman and 13 other cosponsors in opposing a Biden administration rule requiring EID ear tags for cattle in order to trace disease. Rep. Hageman said that a similar rule in Ireland was used to track and cull 41,000 cattle, not because of disease but because of so-called climate change.

Massie stated, “A rule requiring electronic ear tags for cattle and bison means the government will know where every animal is and who owns it. This will allow the government to build a registry, which is the first step needed to ban cattle in accordance with the Left’s anti-agriculture climate policies. Congress should stand up for American farmers and ranchers by blocking the electronic ear tag rule.”

The Congressman said the mandate for ear tags could be the beginning of the end for American cattlemen.

The mandate of electronic identification ear tags on cattle is the beginning of the end for American cattlemen. I’m a cosponsor of @RepHageman‘s legislation blocking the @USDA_APHIS ear tag rule.https://t.co/jriyucCm0U pic.twitter.com/RNvQsUXsp0

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 14, 2024