Rep. Chip Roy, Who Clashed With Trump And Gop Leaders, Launches Bid For Texas Ag

WASHINGTON — Conservative firebrand Rep. Chip Roy said Thursday he is moving for Texas lawyer wide successful 2026, jumping into a crowded Republican superior section to switch Ken Paxton.

Roy, a personnel of nan far-right House Freedom Caucus, has been a thorn successful nan broadside of President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and nan House GOP activity team. A erstwhile lawyer and apical adjutant to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Roy first came to Congress successful 2019.

In his campaign motorboat video posted Thursday, Roy, 53, warned “the Texas of our dreams, our families and our forefathers, is nether assault," blaming “radical Democrats and George Soros,” “open separator politicians,” and “faceless corporations and nan Chinese Communist Party.”

“Today, we tie a statement successful nan sand,” he said.

Roy joins respective different Republican candidates successful nan title for lawyer wide aft Paxton announced a bid against Sen. John Cornyn successful 2026.

Roy has many times voted against large backing bills and has railed against nan ballooning nationalist indebtedness and shortage spending.

In 1 of his much memorable speeches, Roy, successful November 2023, took to nan House level and berated his ain GOP leadership, asking colleagues to sanction "one thing" that Republicans had done since taking backmost power of nan House that January.

“I want my Republican colleagues to springiness maine 1 point — one! — that I tin spell run connected and opportunity we did. One!” Roy exclaimed. “Anybody sitting successful nan complex, you want to travel down to nan level and travel explicate to maine 1 material, meaningful, important point nan Republican mostly has done besides, ‘Well, I conjecture it’s not arsenic bad arsenic nan Democrats.’”

He was 1 of a fistful of Republicans who backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis complete Trump successful nan 2024 statesmanlike primary. And he initially was opposed to Trump's "big beautiful bill" earlier this twelvemonth earlier yet voting for it, saying he helped unafraid changes, including eliminating clean-energy subsidies.

In 2021, aft Democrat Joe Biden's statesmanlike predetermination victory, Roy collapsed pinch Trump and GOP leaders erstwhile he voted to certify nan results of nan 2020 election.

"That ballot whitethorn good motion my governmental decease warrant, but truthful beryllium it," Roy said astatine nan time.

Since then, Trump has disparaged Roy connected respective occasions, calling him a "RINO" congressman who seeks "cheap publicity" and should look a superior challenge.

In his run video, Roy concisely invokes Trump, saying he helped nan president unafraid nan border.

"Texans' adjacent lawyer wide must person a proven grounds of fighting to preserve, protect and take sides our legacy, an lawyer wide unafraid to fight, unafraid to win," Roy said. "That's why I fought to unafraid our separator and thief President Trump present results."

Roy joins a fistful of different blimpish rabble rousers who are heading for nan exits of Congress to tally for statewide agency — a invited improvement for Johnson and his team, who person struggled to corral votes from these Freedom Caucus members.

Former Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Biggs is moving for politician successful Arizona, while Rep. Ralph Norman is moving for that aforesaid station successful his autochthonal South Carolina. Rep. Nancy Mace, a Freedom Caucus state who besides often bucked leadership, is moving for South Carolina governor. And erstwhile Rep. Matt Gaetz, who created headaches for leadership, resigned from Congress past November and is eyeing a bid for governor successful Florida.