House Freedom Caucus member Chip Roy has no intentions of backing down after Donald Trump personally singled him out in a threat to get with the program on the spending bill.
The president-elect cut through an unusually quiet day from him to directly attack the Republican representative, suggesting he could be primaried next if he doesn’t fall in line.
“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. The Democrats are using them, and we can’t let that happen,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “Weak and ineffective people like Chip have to be dismissed as being utterly unknowledgeable as to the ways of politics, and as to Making America Great Again.”
“Chip Roy is just another ambitious guy, with no talent. By the way, how’s Bob Good doing?” he continued in another post, referencing the Republican representative from Virginia who Trump helped oust in the primaries. “I hope some talented challengers are getting ready in the Great State of Texas to go after Chip in the Primary. He won’t have a chance!”
Roy likely became Trump’s target of the day after being unsatisfied with how far the spending cuts went in the last spending bill. But despite Trump’s direct threat, Roy held his ground in a message directed to the president.
“My position is simple—I am not going to raise or suspend the debt ceiling (racking up more debt) without significant & real spending cuts attached to it,” Roy wrote on X. “I’ve been negotiating to that end. No apologies. CC: @realDonaldTrump @SpeakerJohnson @SenJohnThune @freedomcaucus.”
Trump on Thursday suggested outright abolishing the country’s debt ceiling, something that clearly makes the conservative Roy uncomfortable. On Tuesday, Roy introduced the DOGE Act to further cut federal spending on nonmilitary programs.
“We’re working right now on how to actually cut spending, which is what the voters sent me to Washington to do. So that’s what we’re working on,” Roy told the media when asked about Trump’s threat.