As House Speaker Mike Johnson aims to retain his role, Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., targeted fellow Republican Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., who has indicated that he is “undecided” on whether he’ll vote for Johnson.
President-elect Donald Trump endorsed Johnson for the job this week, but Roy noted during an appearance on Fox Business that he does not think the speaker will have the votes needed to win during the upcoming Friday vote.
Van Orden asserted in a post on X that Trump “received a mandate from the American people in November,” while Roy “did not.”
“It is the America First Agenda, not the Chip Roy First Agenda. It is Make America Great Again, not make Chip Roy Great. President Trump is fighting for America, Chip is fighting to keep his brand marketable,” Van Orden claimed.
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Left: Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., talks with the media before a vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024; Right: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., arrives to a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on May 22, 2024. (Left: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Right: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Some people apparently need to understand that in order to be a Leader, you have to learn how to follow first. I would love to work with Chip, but he needs to understand he can be part of the Team, but there is no way in hell he is the Captain. The Captain will be moving back into the White House shortly and his 1st Lieutenant is @SpeakerJohnson,” Van Orden declared in the post.
Fox News Digital reached out to a Roy spokesperson to request a comment from the congressman.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has declared that he will not vote for Johnson to remain speaker.
Roy has noted that he is “undecided” on Johnson, but is demanding change.
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Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., is seen outside the U.S. Capitol after the last votes before the August recess on July 25, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
“@RepThomasMassie will not be voting for Hakeem Jefferies, as opposed to GOP who voted with Dems (more Dems than GOP each time) to spend some $3 trillion & give $61bb to Ukraine with no border security,” Roy said in a post on X.Â
“The reason I am still undecided on the Speaker vote (as opposed to hard no) is it’s not ALL the fault of @SpeakerJohnson & my desire is to give him grace & @realDonaldTrump room to deliver on a strong agenda for which we were elected. But something MUST change,” he noted.
Johnson’s path to victory is precarious, and he could be derailed if another Republican joins Massie in staunchly opposing Johnson’s bid to retain the speakership.
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Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is seen outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
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Fox News Senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has explained, “The winning candidate must secure an outright majority of all Members voting for a candidate by name.”
Pergram described a possible scenario in which just two Republicans could prevent Johnson from reaching the threshold necessary to win. “So let’s say there are 434 members and all vote for someone by name. The magic number is 218. If Johnson gets the votes of all 219 Republicans, he wins. If Johnson gets 218 votes, he also wins. But 217? No dice,” Pergram noted.
