GOP Congressman Goes on Rant Against Trump

In a dramatic showdown on the House floor Thursday, Texas Rep. Chip Roy accused his Republican colleagues of lacking “an ounce of self-respect” for backing a debt ceiling bill that would raise the national borrowing limit by trillions, as demanded by former President Donald Trump.

Roy, one of 38 Republicans who joined Democrats in rejecting the bill, made it clear he wouldn’t support raising the debt without major spending cuts. The bill was part of a last-minute effort to avoid a government shutdown, scheduled to begin Saturday. Trump’s public pressure on Republicans, calling for the bill’s passage, led to a heated confrontation, with Roy blasting both Trump and his fellow lawmakers for putting the country’s fiscal future at risk.

“I am absolutely sickened by a party that campaigns on fiscal responsibility and has the temerity to go forward to the American people and say you think this is fiscally responsible. It is absolutely ridiculous,” Roy said in his impassioned floor speech.

Previously, House Republicans had negotiated a deal with Democrats that delayed the debt ceiling suspension. However, after Trump’s close ally Elon Musk spent the day criticizing the bill on social media and spreading misinformation, Trump shifted gears and demanded Republicans tie the debt ceiling increase to outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration. The result was a watered-down bill that failed to pass due to opposition from both parties.

Roy didn’t hold back, slamming the revised bill as “asinine,” particularly for its $5 trillion increase in the national debt. “Yes, I think this bill is better than it was yesterday on certain respects, but to take this bill yesterday and congratulate yourself because it’s shorter in pages but increases the debt by $5 trillion is asinine! And that’s precisely what Republicans are doing,” he said. He also criticized the bill’s $110 billion in unaccounted-for spending.

Taking aim at his colleagues, Roy charged, “You never have any ounce of self-respect. To go out and campaign, saying you’re going to balance the budget, and then you come in here and pass $110 billion unpaid for!”

Earlier that day, Trump had called Roy out on social media, accusing him of “getting in the way… of yet another Great Republican Victory.” Trump also suggested Roy should face a primary challenge in the next election.

In his speech, Roy made a pointed reference to the Constitution, reminding his colleagues, “This is Article 1,” signaling that it is Congress, not the president, who holds the power to control the federal budget.