House Republican says colleagues’ ‘job’ is to slow Democratic priorities

GOP Rep. Chip Roy (Texas) said that he believes it is his and his Republican colleagues’ “job” to “do everything we can” to slow down Democrats’ policy agenda. 

The remarks came in a recently surfaced video from an event hosted by former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum’s (Pa.) group, Patriot Voices, last month.

In the video, which was circulated online by Democratic activist Lauren Windsor, Roy expressed doubt that the House will be able to achieve bipartisanship on a number of issues, including infrastructure and transportation. 

“Honestly, right now, for the next 18 months, our job is to do everything we can to slow all of that down to get to December of 2022, and then get in there and lead,” he said. 

Roy then went on to comment on the bipartisan infrastructure deal reached last month between President Biden and a group of Republican and Democratic senators, arguing, “The people who were working to cut the deal, by the way, were not your conservative warriors in the Senate.”

“Nobody knows what anybody’s gonna do right now,” Roy added. “That’s the thing, this is the problem. I actually say, ‘Thank the Lord, 18 more months of chaos and the inability to get stuff done.’ That’s what we want.”

NEW–> GOP Congressman on bipartisanship: We want “18 more months of chaos and the inability to get stuff done” pic.twitter.com/yvsGTNkDGB

— Lauren Windsor (@lawindsor) July 6, 2021

In a statement shared with The Hill, Roy doubled down on his remarks, explaining that he is “in favor of anything that slows down and halts radical leftist legislation, including chaotic negotiations like Biden’s incoherent infrastructure dialogue that left all parties confused.” 

“I do not apologize one bit for pushing back against the leftist mob that seeks to destroy America from within,” he continued. “I am proud of this country, not embarrassed by it and I will obstruct the agenda of those that are with everything I’ve got.”

The remarks come as several Republicans have signaled opposition to Biden’s proposed multitrillion-dollar infrastructure package, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday saying Republicans would wage a “hell of a fight” over Democrats’ attempts to pass the bill. 

The framework as agreed upon by Biden and the coalition of bipartisan senators, which included moderates like Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), includes $579 billion in new spending over five years for a total of $973 billion over five years and just over $1.2 trillion over eight years.

The plan also allocates $312 billion for transportation programs, with the remaining $266 billion going to areas like water infrastructure, broadband and environmental remediation. 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said that he wants to hold a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the budget resolution, which would allow Democrats to pass a second, larger infrastructure bill along party lines.

The opposition from Republicans comes as they are looking to take control of the House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections. Democrats currently hold slim majorities in both chambers. 

–Updated at 1:13 p.m.