Chip Roy Fears GOP Lawmakers Will Seek To Stonewall Trump’s Agenda ‘Behind The Scenes’

'This is the natural way of things for Republicans in Washington'

Conflict brews within House GOP conference between moderates and mass deportation hardliners



President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on the promise that he will implement nationwide mass deportations after the Biden-Harris administration allowed at least 10 million migrants to illegally enter the country over the last four years. While Trump has many political allies on the hill, others within the Republican conference hold a more moderate view on the immigration issue, which may stir conflict in the coming weeks.

Speaker Mike Johnson has earned the wholehearted endorsement of the president-elect, despite being at the center of much of the GOP's infighting. While he has aligned himself with Trump's MAGA mandate, he wavered on the key issue of immigration during an interview with CNN on Sunday.

'Our starting place should be for any individuals who came here illegally or were released into the United States illegally, illegitimately, by the Biden-Harris-Mayorkas regime.'

Johnson first and foremost reaffirmed that his position largely aligns with Trump's, insisting that effective immigration policy was a "mandate" from the American people.

"This is what the American people have demanded and what they deserve," Johnson told CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Sunday. "They want a secure country. They want a secure border. And we will deliver upon that. That's what the mandate of the election was all about."

Despite this, Johnson indicated that his deportation policy would not include all illegal immigrants at first but rather prioritize the deportation of criminals.

"I think what the president is talking about is beginning with the dangerous persons that we know are here," Johnson said. "There are criminals, known criminals. There are known terrorists in the country. There are some who have been apprehended for committing violent crimes after they've come across the border illegally. So you start with that number. You've got, by some counts, as many as 3 or 4 million people that fit in that category. Begin there and then see how it transpires."

Johnson's comments earned a bit of pushback from political allies and immigration hardliners like Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who says we should "keep our foot on the gas" when it comes to deportations.

"We've made some progress in unity," Roy said on Glenn Beck's Monday show. "But, I will say, I was a little concerned about what I heard yesterday, and the speaker kind of walked it back a little bit. But focusing on deportation, I think we need to just keep our foot on the gas."

"I want to be very clear," Roy continued. "Our starting place should be for any individuals who came here illegally or were released into the United States illegally, illegitimately, by the Biden-Harris-Mayorkas regime. They need to be removed."

While Republicans like Johnson and Roy have smaller differences to parse in the upcoming Congress, other GOP representatives are going against the grain when it comes to the MAGA mandate.

Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, a fellow Texan who represents a border county, has signaled opposition to the blanket deportations Trump is advocating for.

"If the message is, 'We're here to deport your abuelita,' that's not going to work well," Gonzales said, using the Spanish word for "grandma," in a Sunday interview with ABC News. "It has to be one of holding these hardened criminals accountable."

“You know, if we’re going after the guy that’s picking tomatoes or the nurse at the local hospital and we’re not going after the convicted criminal, then our government has failed us,” Gonzales said.

Despite the top-down mandate from Trump, the Republican conference could become fractured on yet another hot-button issue.

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Freedom Caucus Member Cries Foul On Proposed House Rules To Punish Conservative Dissenters

'Same sheet of music'

The real reason conservatives are voting against a Social Security bill



Congress is voting on a pair of Social Security bills that will address the benefit structure of the program, but only one is favored among hardline conservatives.

Congress has the choice between H.R. 82, known as the Social Security Fairness Act, and H.R. 5342, known as the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act. Both would address the windfall elimination provision and government pension offset, which adjust Social Security benefits for employees based on whether their jobs paid into the system.

There is also concern about the potential backlash for moving a bill this consequential through a discharge petition, which deprives congressmen of the opportunity to amend or debate a bill before voting on it.

H.R. 82 would get rid of the WEP and GPO altogether while H.R. 5342 would amend them. As a result, some conservatives like Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas have objected to H.R. 82 and favored H.R. 5342, citing fiscal concerns.

By eliminating both provisions, H.R. 82 would add nearly $200 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade, according to a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

"This bill irresponsibly eliminates Social Security’s WEP and Government Pension Offset, which means some retirees already covered by government pensions could receive an unfair windfall from Social Security at the expense of other retirees," Roy told Blaze News in an exclusive statement. "The Congressional Budget Office estimates H.R. 82 would cost taxpayers a whopping $200 billion and will accelerate Social Security’s insolvency – threatening benefits for every American currently paying into the system and those currently receiving benefits."

On the other hand, H.R. 5342 will make a smaller contribution to the national debt, which is now approaching $36 trillion.

"H.R. 5342 will cost somewhere from [$25-30 billion] over 10 years and will not hasten Social Security's insolvency," a spokesman from Roy's office told Blaze News in an exclusive statement.

"Many of America’s police, firefighters, teachers, and other public servants have unfairly seen their Social Security benefits reduced because of the poorly crafted WEP, despite many of these individuals paying into Social Security while working other jobs," Roy told Blaze News in an exclusive statement.

"H.R. 5342, which I have co-sponsored since coming to Congress in 2019, would have responsibly addressed the problems stemming from WEP without accelerating Social Security’s insolvency," Roy continued. "It was designed to replace the unfair, slipshod WEP with a new and carefully considered benefit formula to ensure these Americans get the benefits they deserve. At the same time, it would have provided monthly rebates to current beneficiaries to offset the impacts of the WEP."

There is also concern about the potential backlash for moving a bill this consequential through a discharge petition, which deprives congressmen of the opportunity to amend or debate a bill before voting on it.

"Just imagine if we did this to jam through something like, say, congressional stock trading next Congress," Roy's spokesman told Blaze News.

"If we want this program to be there – if we want our country to be there – for future generations, we need to make choices that do right by people with what they have earned, and to do that with a clear-eyed view of our fiscal challenges," Roy told Blaze News in an exclusive statement. "That is why Congress has a duty to responsibly and fairly protect Social Security benefits for all Americans both today and tomorrow. That is what I voted for today."

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Taxpayer funds wasted on DHS outreach campaign to help illegal immigrants



The Biden-Harris administration's Department of Homeland Security has squandered taxpayer funds to erect billboards in Texas offering legal assistance to detained illegal immigrants.

A DHS source tipped off Fox News Digital about the billboards last week.

One of the advertisements read, "Your brother in immigration custody has rights."

"We're here to help," it adds.

The ads were created by the DHS' Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, an independent office that "assists individuals with complaints about the potential violation of immigration detention standards or other misconduct by DHS (or contract) personnel." The office also oversees immigration detention facilities.

'Congress should NOT be funding propaganda to undermine our own laws.'

The DHS' decision to put up the billboards sparked outrage within the department's agencies, according to Fox News Digital.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers told the news outlet they are furious.

Fox News Digital journalist Bill Melugin stated, "Multiple DHS contacts I've talked to, including in ICE & Border Patrol, are outraged about the billboards, telling me their agencies are already working with limited funding/resources, and DHS is spending money on billboards that they feel work against them."

An ICE source called the ads "more than insulting."

A Border Patrol agent told Melugin, "This is so wrong."

When Fox News Digital reached out for comment, DHS responded with "a history lesson about the ombudsman office" but did not answer any questions.

"DHS and its employees provide the highest standard of care for individuals who are detained in its custody," the DHS stated.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) called the DHS' outreach campaign "insane."

"The news that DHS is using taxpayer money to launch billboards advocating 'rights' for individuals in 'immigration custody' should be alarming because it's a preview of the legal arguments that radical progressive democrats will use to argue against deportation of the millions dumped in America by Biden-Harris-Mayorkas," Roy stated. "Congress should NOT be funding propaganda to undermine our own laws. That's insane."

"Americans should not PAY for free legal advice to foreign criminals," Roy declared.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) said, "Whether it's FEMA splurging hundreds of millions of dollars on migrant housing or OIDO running ads like this, our government is hemorrhaging money on the wrong priorities."

"It's time for Congress to pull the plug on programs like these," he added.

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Exclusive: Chip Roy presses government for 'egregious' attempts to override Congress, influence judicial policy



Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas pushed back on the "egregious abuse" of federal actors attempting to circumvent congressional authority by influencing judicial policy, according to a Monday letter obtained exclusively by Blaze News.

In the letter addressed to Robin Rosenberg, who chairs the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, Roy points out that Congress is actively considering legislation that would improve the effectiveness of the judiciary. At the same time, the committee is aiming to get rid of single-judge divisions for political convenience, according to the letter.

"The Administrative Office of the Courts is asking Congress to expand judgeships while simultaneously taking steps to usurp congressional authority by disempowering single-judge divisions," Roy said in the letter. "As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I will do everything in my power to block any Administrative Office of the Courts priority until it stops the misguided attack."

'If your committee does not appreciate the legal and separation-of-powers issues at play, I hope it will at least recognize the political issues,' Roy said.

"It appears that your committee is upset that certain litigants that do not check the correct ideological box are filing lawsuits in single-judge divisions and finding success," Roy said in the letter. "This is a strange time for concern, given that the ideological left has long brought suits in courthouses where home state senators ensure a left-of-center judiciary."

Roy also noted in the letter that former President Donald Trump had more injunctions against him than President Joe Biden, stifling claims of judicial bias against left-wingers.

"Why be concerned now instead of then?" Roy asked.

Roy says that Rosenberg cannot expect Congress to work alongside the committee if the committee is simultaneously trying to circumvent Congress.

"If your committee does not appreciate the legal and separation-of-powers issues at play, I hope it will at least recognize the political issues," Roy said in the letter. "The courts cannot reasonably expect Congress to approve a significant number of additional judges while undermining congressional authority."

"If you don't hold up your end of the bargain, don't ask us to hold up ours," Roy said in the letter. "I cannot in good conscience support legislation — as a Texan, or as a member of the House Judiciary Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution — that expands the number of federal judges unless the Rules Committee, under your leadership, remedies this egregious abuse of authority."

The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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Congress Must Do More To Prevent Noncitizens From Voting

Noncitizens should have no voice or vote in U.S. elections — any of them.

Texas Poll Workers Must Now Require Naturalization Docs From People Trying To Vote With Noncitizen IDs

'It is critically important that Texas take every legal step necessary to ensure that not a single noncitizen votes,' Rep. Chip Roy told The Federalist.