GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas — a former chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz — is challenging the seating of members from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as those are the states President Trump is challenging over claims of voter fraud, irregularities and unconstitutional elections:
! Rep. @chiproytx has challenged the seating of all House members from Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia and other states being challenged by Trump.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 3, 2021
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky explained the move, tweeting that congressmen who challenge the outcome of the vote on January 6 will be on record saying their own election was valid:
What’s happening on the floor now? @chiproytx objected to seating Congressmen in the states where election fraud is alleged. Those congressmen alleging election fraud in their own states will now presumably vote to validate their own elections in those same states. Interesting.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 3, 2021
Rep. Roy released a statement earlier in the day saying the only “job of Congress is to count the electors that states sent to Congress, not determine electors states should have sent” and “to do otherwise will destroy a foundation of our federal republic”:
The job of Congress is to count the electors that states sent to Congress, not determine electors states should have sent. To do otherwise will destroy a foundation of our federal republic, that Congress cannot force its will on states to choose the President. #StandUpForAmerica https://t.co/p8fjMTFbp8
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) January 3, 2021
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This is a “sideswipe” at the plan initially put forward by Rep. Mo Brooks:
He's putting other GOP members on record. Hard for them to say the vote for House members is valid, and then say on Wednesday that the presidential vote should be ruled invalid. It's a sideswipe at Mo Brooks' plan.
— Kristin Wilson (@kristin__wilson) January 3, 2021
We expect they’ll still challenge the vote on Wednesday, however:
What @chiproytx is doing is clever: He's forcing House Rs to vote on whether congressional elections in AZ, GA, MI, PA, WI were in fact clean & fraud free – before members from those 6 states can be sworn in.
If their House races were clean, then so were presidential races.— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) January 3, 2021
And there’s already some chatter about a primary challenge for Rep. Roy:
Chip Roy just earned himself a primary challenge.
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) January 3, 2021
But let’s see if that ever gets off the ground because he’s a true conservative:
He's 100% pro-life, pro-gun and pro-Constitution without compromise and wins in a competitive district, but you want to defeat him because he doesn't believe an Internet conspiracy theory?
This is why Republicans went from a majority to a minority under Trump.
— Donny Ferguson (@DonnyFerguson) January 3, 2021
.@chiproytx is a fabulous member of Congress. No one is better on issues about the border than Chip Roy. https://t.co/G4WvEA72hb
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) January 3, 2021
You never support anyone based on a single vote, it’s the accumulation of their career. Lankford is a garbage Senator who’s objecting, Roy is a very good Congressman who’s not objecting. It’s a really blind takeaway @ScottPresler
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) January 3, 2021
As for a primary challenge, Rep. Roy appears to welcome it:
Full statement here:
Today, I objected to the seating of my colleagues from six states: AZ, GA, MI, NV, PA, and WI.
It would confound reason if the presidential results of these states were to face objection while the congressional results of the same process escaped public scrutiny. pic.twitter.com/VzmafDSsT7
— Rep. Chip Roy (@RepChipRoy) January 3, 2021
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