Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has expressed critical doubts about Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) potential to retain his gavel.
Regardless of receiving the extremely coveted endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump, Johnson faces a storm of skepticism from inside his personal celebration, simply days forward of an important flooring vote.
On Monday, President Trump made a surprising endorsement for Home Speaker Mike Johnson to be reelected, as he faces challenges from different GOP lawmakers.
Trump praised Johnson as a “good, hardworking, spiritual man” and the appropriate alternative to hold ahead the America First agenda.
Showing on Varney & Co. on Fox Enterprise, Roy didn’t mince phrases about Johnson’s precarious place.
Roy laid naked the chaos that unfolded within the ultimate days of 2024. He detailed how Congress violated its personal 72-hour rule—not as soon as, however twice—forcing lawmakers to vote on a 1,500-page spending invoice with out satisfactory time to evaluation its contents.
Even after whittling it right down to a extra digestible 100 pages with intervention from high-profile allies like Elon Musk and JD Vance, the invoice nonetheless dedicated $110 billion in unfunded spending.
Roy acknowledged Johnson’s shut ties to former President Trump however made it clear that loyalty alone will not be sufficient.
Roy additionally floated potential alternate options, akin to Representatives Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Jim Jordan (R-OH), whereas emphasizing the necessity for a unified GOP technique.
Transcript:
Ashley Webster:
Is Mr. Johnson going to have the assist to maintain his function as Speaker? What do you assume?Chip Roy:
Effectively, good morning, Ashley, and Blissful New Yr to all of the listeners and viewers on the market. Look, Victoria is an effective good friend, and Thomas is an effective good friend, and so they increase affordable considerations. I stay involved. I stay undecided, as do quite a lot of my colleagues, as a result of we noticed so lots of the failures final 12 months which may restrict or inhibit our potential to advance the President’s agenda.I respect, like Thomas, that President Trump helps Mike. I like Mike—he’s a great good friend. However let’s contemplate what occurred the week earlier than Christmas.
We violated the 72-hour rule twice, which implies we didn’t have time to learn a invoice. We needed to have Elon and the Beck and the President and JD are available in to kill a 1,500-page monstrosity and lower it right down to 100 pages. It nonetheless spent $110 billion unpaid for.
My colleagues say, “Oh, however that’s all simply discretionary spending.” We additionally handed $200 billion that’s taking cash out of Social Safety to switch it, which can hasten the chapter of Social Safety by six months.
That was all of the week earlier than Christmas, Ashley. That’s an issue. That’s not how we must always do enterprise. We racked up $300 billion of further deficit spending after the election. We spent $1.7 trillion final 12 months with extra Democrat votes than Republican votes. We gave one other $61 billion to Ukraine.
My good friend Victoria, she’s from Ukraine—she has a coronary heart for the Ukrainian individuals—however she understands giving $61 billion to Ukraine after Mike Johnson promised to safe the border first is an issue. So we have to have a plan earlier than January third. The Speaker wants to talk to it if he needs to have all of our assist.
Ashley Webster:
Yeah, and I’ve to observe up at this level, Congressman. Does he have that assist or not?Chip Roy:
Proper now, I don’t consider that he has the votes on Friday, and I feel we have to have the convention get collectively in order that we are able to get united. Folks say, “Effectively, Chip, who would you select in any other case?”There are numerous nice members of Congress. Mike’s a good friend, and possibly he can reply the decision and ship an agenda and a plan. Byron Donalds is an effective man and a great good friend. I supported him. I nominated him two years in the past. Jim Jordan is an effective man and a great good friend.
There are different members of management within the convention who may do the job.
However what we have to do is unite round a plan to ship for the President. Proper now, I don’t consider the convention has that. The failure earlier than Christmas, I can’t overstate, is a glimpse of what’s to come back if we don’t set up the convention to ship for the American individuals.
We’re not going to have the ability to bend on the issues that matter. We should lower spending if we wish inflation to go down and for individuals to afford to dwell on this nation. We have now to safe the border. We will’t be going forwards and backwards on that.
We have now to offer the instruments to Tom Homan, the President, and Steven Miller to safe the border, and we’ve bought to have the plans in place by Friday.
WATCH:
NEW: Rep. Chip Roy threatens to explode Speaker Mike Johnson’s affirmation, a transfer that may instantly oppose Trump’s endorsement.
Republicans have a slim majority, which means any opposition may halt the affirmation.
Trump is more and more involved that Republican opposition… pic.twitter.com/OMm9QVBU3w
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 31, 2024
