Patrick Semansky, File/Associated Press
- On film, Rep. Chip Roy said he wants to block Democrats so Republicans can retake Congress in 2022.
- "Our job is to do everything we can to slow all of that down to get to December of 2022, and then get in here and lead," he said.
- It's likely to fuel Democratic attacks on Republicans as being uninterested in striking deals.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A GOP congressman from Texas said in a secretly taped video that he supports blocking Democrats with "18 months of chaos" so Republicans have a shot of reclaiming Congress in the 2022 midterms.
"For the next 18 months, our job is to do everything we can to slow all of that down to get to December of 2022, and then get in here and lead," Rep. Chip Roy said in a video taped by Democratic activist Lauren Windsor. "Nobody knows what anybody's gonna do right now. That's the thing, this is the problem. I actually say, 'Thank the Lord, 18 more months of chaos and the inability to get stuff done.' That's what we want."
-Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 7, 2021
Roy also chided the $579 billion infrastructure agreement, saying the moderate Republicans who negotiated it weren't "conservative warriors." Months of talks eventually produced an agreement on a framework last month. Biden initially tied its passage to the success of a Democrat-only bill, but he backed down on his veto threat after sparking criticism from Senate Republicans.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has firmly dug in on not approving the bipartisan agreement unless the Senate clears a multi-trillion reconciliation bill containing social and health initiatives. That pathway allows Democrats to bypass Republicans and approve certain bills with a simple majority vote in the Senate.
"And so they're cutting a deal, but then Biden, who came out and said, 'We have a deal,' allowed Pelosi to basically kind of step in and go, 'Whoop, no you don't,'" he's heard saying off-screen.
The remarks are likely to fuel Democratic attacks on Republicans as being uninterested in striking deals on issues stretching from the economy, immigration, and policing. Many Democrats already point to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's comments earlier this year saying he is "100% focused" on stopping the Biden administration.
Roy doubled down on his remarks in a statement shared with Insider on Wednesday. "For the next 18 months, Republicans' job is to do everything that we can to slow down and block the Democrats' radical agenda, and then win the majority and lead," he said.