here's why massie reading the uss liberty story on the congressional floor matters, and in this consider the reactions of other politicians that speak loudly about who and what they are;

 

 On June 8, 1967, the American Navy’s ship the USS Liberty was attacked by Israel, killing 34 and wounding at least 171. 

On June 8, 2026, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said, on the House floor, 

It’s my great honor, maybe one of the biggest honors of my lifetime, to stand here on the floor and do something that’s 59 years overdue, to recognize the survivors and those who gave their lives on the USS Liberty 59 years ago today, when they were viciously attacked by IDF [Israel Defense Force] jets and also after that by torpedo boats.

Massie continued, “I’m going to tell you a little bit of their story,” and he did tell their harrowing tale in the five minutes allotted to him. “And by the way, there’s at least a dozen of them here today with us. I just met with them in my office and they related this story to me,” Massie signaled to the USS Liberty survivors who were in the House chamber when he made his speech.

A member of Congress paying tribute to American servicemembers isn’t exactly unusual. Still, habitually hawkish Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw of Texas took issue with Massie doing this, writing on X, “I’ve always had respect for Massie. He was always—in my opinion—wrong about his approach but he was standing on heartfelt principles and had intellectual backing. He’s a nice guy.”

“But comments like this make me question his authenticity,” Crenshaw wrote, referring to Massie’s original announcement that he would honor the USS Liberty servicemen. “The USS Liberty incident is a tragic one, but it’s an incident with a clear conclusion if one uses any objective analysis of the facts. I thought Massie was capable of objective analysis.”