This 'hard-right rabble rouser' is a frequent thorn in Trump’s side

24 January

When lawmakers in Congress were having heated debates over a spending deal in December, Donald Trump was furious with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) over his adamant opposition to raising the debt ceiling. Trump angrily railed against Roy — an ultra-conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus — on his Truth Social platform, calling for him to face a GOP primary challenge in the 2026 midterms.

Trump posted, "The very unpopular 'Congressman' from Texas, Chip Roy, is getting in the way, as usual, of having yet another Great Republican Victory — All for the sake of some cheap publicity for himself. Republican obstructionists have to be done away with."

Roy stood his ground, however.

That wasn't the first time Trump and Roy clashed. In an article published on January 24, Politico's Rachel Bade examines the ongoing tensions between Trump and the Texas lawmaker.

"Roy was a rare House conservative who opposed efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Congress," Bade explains. "After the January 6 attack, he argued that Donald Trump had engaged in 'clearly impeachable conduct.' Then, the fiery Texas conservative hitched his wagon to the wrong horse in the 2024 primaries, backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis."

Roy isn't a full-fledged Never Trumper, however. Bade notes that Roy met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after he won the general election in 2024.

"Now, as Trump and his inner circle eye internal threats to passage of their legislative agenda, Roy's name keeps coming up," Bade reports. "More than any House conservative, the 52-year-old political veteran is seen as having the swagger to rev up the hard-right rabble-rousers who have repeatedly derailed GOP leaders' plans…. And he speaks in language that pulls at conservatives' heart strings — and grates on those trying to keep the party in lockstep."

Bade points out that although "Roy insists the tensions between him and Trump are badly overblown," he isn't shy about "drawing lines in the sand" when he disagrees with the president on tax and spending policy.

Roy told Politico, "Don't come to me with the, just, blanket statement, 'All tax cuts pay for themselves.' Look, I want tax reductions — but you need to give me spending restraint….. : People will try to characterize it as 'your way or the highway' — no. I'm literally just trying to make sure that we're calling balls and strikes about what we're actually doing."

The Freedom Caucus Republican added, "Don't bulls--t the American people with campaign pledges and then come over here and do something different."

Read Rachel Bade's full article for Politico at this link.

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