Northern Kentucky's Rep. Thomas Massie Friday found himself at the center of a firestorm - and a Twitter tirade from President Trump - as he forced a number of Congress members to return to Washington.

The House voted to pass a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package – the largest emergency aid bill in history – that will offer $1,200 checks to Americans, extensive unemployment benefits for those out of work and financial relief to businesses and the health care industry hard-hit by the worsening crisis.

Before the vote, members of Congress and President Trump seemed worried that Massie could derail or delay the passage of the bill.

At the very least he forced some members to return to Washington - potentially forcing them to expose themselves to the coronavirus.

"He is a disaster for America, and for the Great State of Kentucky," Trump continued in his tweet storm.

The Friday tweets followed the comment Trump made Thursday at a press conference that seemed to call out Massie’s voting record.

"There could be one vote, one vote, one grandstander, you might have one grandstander, and for that we’ll have to come back and take a little more time," Trump said Thursday during a press conference.

Frustrated and angry House lawmakers rushed back to Washington, taking red-eye flights and driving for hours after Massie suggested in a radio interview Thursday that he would require an in-person vote on a historic $2 trillion bill to help Americans and businesses reeling from the impacts of coronavirus.

Massie told 55 KRC radio Thursday morning he plans to reject the coronavirus relief bill— which includes one-time $1,200 checks to certain individuals and $367 billion in loans and grants to small businesses — due to concerns over spiking the national debt, the Courier Journal reported.

More:Northern Kentucky's Rep. Thomas Massie: 'Unlike any other Congress critter.'

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The House plans to vote on the package by voice vote, meaning it would pass with members calling out either "aye" or "nay,” but the procedure allows for any one lawmaker to ask for a recorded vote. If any lawmaker asks for one, it would require more than half of House members to be present on the House floor to cast votes in person on the legislation.

Massie announced on Twitter, in the midst of a flurry of politicos condemning him, that he would make the request for a vote on the bill.

"If getting us into $6 trillion more debt doesn’t matter, then why are we not getting $350 trillion more in debt so that we can give a check of $1 million to every person in the country," he tweeted on Friday. "This stimulus should go straight to the people rather than being funneled through banks and corporations like this bill is doing."

He said he thought the bill should expand testing availability so "that every American, not just the wealthy and privileged, have access to testing."

"Everyone, even those with no symptoms, needs immediate access to a test," Massie tweeted.

Then, it seemed that Massie wouldn't get a chance to speak on the House floor.

Massie tweeted: "Are they afraid of the truth? I’ve been told that they don’t even have one minute available for me to speak against this bill during the four hour debate."

Massie, dubbed "Mr. No," by Politico, is often the sole no vote on a bill. Recently, was the only no vote on a bill supporting human rights in Hong Kong.

Massie voted for the coronavirus relief measure in early March, but missed the vote for a second measure on March 14. He recently told The Enquirer that he would have voted no on the bill even if he had been in D.C. because he was concerned the bill would put small companies "out of business."

This year, Massie will face a challenger on the June 23 primary election. The challenger, Todd McMurtry, is a lawyer who lives Covington, Kentucky. Earlier this month, McMurtry told The Enquirer Massie should resign over the comments Massie made on social media about the government's response to the pandemic.

Politicos respond

Former Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry didn't hold back when he unleashed his thoughts on Massie.

"He must be quarantined to prevent the spread of his massive stupidity," Kerry wrote on Twitter.

Kerry and Massie got in a heated debate during a climate change hearing in 2019 when Massie claimed Kerry's political science degree was "not really science."

Members of Congress tweeted veiled comments as well.

"Dear Rep. Thomas Massie: If you intend to delay passage of the coronavirus relief bill tomorrow morning, please advise your 428 colleagues RIGHT NOW so we can book flights and expend $200,000 in taxpayer money to counter your principled, but terribly misguided stunt," Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, of Minnesota, tweeted on Thursday

Other members defended Massie.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said Massie is "one of the most principled men in Congress," and told President Trump to "back off."

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz, agreed Massie "is a good man and a solid conservative," and added "Thomas — Hang tough brother."

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, Louisville's representative in Congress, is following Gov. Andy Beshear's "healthy at home" guidance but has a flight booked for Washington, D.C. in case he's needed this weekend, according to the Courier Journal.

Yarmuth has spent the past several days in self-quarantine after making an appearance at an event earlier this month that included two attendees who later tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Yarmuth's coronavirus test came back negative, but his spokesman Christopher Schuler said he's still been practicing social distancing and following Beshear's recommendations that people stay away from others in order to slow the spread of the virus.

Candidates who want Massie's job lash out

Massie is running this year for a fifth term in office. He finds himself in a situation he hasn't had since his first congressional win: he has a primary challenger.

McMurtry, the Republican candidate who hopes to unseat Massie, lives among the Northern Kentucky suburbs that make up the majority population center of the district.

McMurtry agreed with Trump and tweeted Friday: "Massie is bad for the 2nd Amendment and Kentucky."

The Democratic candidates who want the 4th Congressional District seat weighed in as well.

Democratic candidate Alexandra Owensby, a nurse practitioner who lives in Fort Thomas, tweeted Friday: "@RepThomasMassie grandstands and places people’s lives on the line, my campaign is working to save hospitals and save lives."

Democratic candidate Shannon Fabert, a businesswoman who lives in Burlington, tweeted Friday: "He’s not even welcome in his own party. Bailouts belong on the kitchen table, NOW."

USA TODAY contributed

The Louisville Courier Journal contributed

The Enquirer will update this article throughout the day.

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Julia is the Northern Kentucky government reporter through the Report For America program. Anonymous donors pledged to cover the local donor portion of her grant-funded position with The Enquirer. If you want to support Julia's work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at cweiser@cincinna.gannett.com to find out how you can help fund her work.

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