President-elect Trump on Thursday encouraged Texas Republicans to consider launching a primary challenge to Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) after accusing the congressman of “obstacle” in raising the debt limit to fund the government. Part of the effort talks.
Chip Roy, the deeply unpopular “congressman” from Texas, is blocking another great Republican victory as usual – all to get some cheap publicity for himself. Republican obstructionists must be eliminated,” Trump said in a post on “Truth Society.”
In a subsequent post, the president-elect said he hopes “some talented challengers are gearing up in the great state of Texas to go after Chip in the primaries. He won’t stand a chance!”
Trump also cited Rep. Bob Goode (R-Va.), who earlier this year endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump in the presidential race , then lost the primary to a Trump-backed challenger.
Roy responded on the social platform X that he would not take action on the debt ceiling without “real spending cuts.”
“My position is simple – I will not raise or suspend the debt ceiling (add more debt) without significant spending cuts. I have been negotiating to do so. No apology.
Former Vice President Pence tweeted support for Roy on Their descendants are saddled with trillions of dollars in debt.
Thursday wasn’t the first time Roy drew Trump’s ire. The former president said in 2023 that the Texas Republican should face a primary after he also endorsed DeSantis, even though Texas’ filing deadline has passed.
Roy easily won re-election in November.
The Lone Star state lawmaker, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, has been outspoken about the need for the president-elect to cut government spending when he returns to office next year to offset planned tax cuts.
Trump has called on lawmakers to raise or repeal the debt ceiling as part of ongoing discussions to fund the federal government, but many members of Congress have balked. The standoff has prompted threats of a government shutdown that would begin Saturday morning if a deal is not reached.
“It would be far better for our country to be shut down for a while than to agree to what the Democrats want to impose on us,” Trump said in a post on “Truth Society” on Thursday.
The Hill reached out to Roy’s office for comment.
Updated at 4:07 p.m. ET
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