Former Ted Cruz chief of staff and current Texas Congressman Chip Roy is in full take-no-prisoners mode as he speaks on the House floor in the videos below, urging — from his position in the House’s far right Freedom Caucus — his Republican congressional colleagues to hunker down for a fight.
Roy, who believes green energy is a scam perpetrated on the public by wishful-thinking liberals, wants Republicans to dig in against the Biden White House and use the leverage of the debt ceiling to extract massive concessions largely favorable to the oil industry.
Chip Roy blows the lid off of Democrats' green energy scam, and has a message for his fellow Republicans:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 25, 2023
"Stand up and hold the line…against the worst form of corporate cronyism I've ever seen on the floor of this body!"
🔥 pic.twitter.com/VGOBw5Ya5Z
But Roy is disappointed so far in how the Republicans are reacting.
“What are Republicans doing?,” he asks. “Running away! Saying what? ‘Oh they’ll never give up their signature Inflation Reduction Act bill.’ Bull. They’ll give it up if we take it to them and hold the line.”
Asserting that green energy is a giveaway to rich suburbanites and a gift to China, Roy says “Democrats should be ashamed and Republicans should be ashamed — if we walk away.” That line comes after he says that Republicans aren’t just walking away, they’re “running.”
Below, Roy gives his response to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who asked when was the last time anyone heard somebody say the government was doing too much for them. Roy thinks it is.
AOC: “Think about the last time a person has said in his country that the government does TOO MUCH for them. When was the last time anyone has heard or seen that?”
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) May 25, 2023
⬇️ SOUND ON for Rep. Roy’s response ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YTSMNinVxp
But in asking “is anyone grateful for the $32 trillion in debt?” Roy could easily look around Texas and elsewhere to find people who, given where much of the money was spent, would be compelled to answer yes — as Medicare, infrastructure, corporate tax incentives and military outlays are all included in the spending that produced the debt.
Roy leads a group of 35 legislators who have signed a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to “hold the line” on his negotiations with President Biden on the debt limit. The play that McCarthy is being urged not to walk back from — codified in a bill the House passed called “Limit, Save, Grow” — includes hobbling numerous social safety net programs and diminishing the capabilities of the IRS to collect revenue, in addition to its oil industry friendly provisions.