After being caught on video this summer saying he wants “18 more months of chaos and the inability to get stuff done” in Washington, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy once again appears to be making good on that pledge.
The bomb-throwing Republican, whose district includes San Antonio and Austin, is urging members of his party to force a government shutdown over the Biden White House's coronavirus vaccination mandates. Those rules call for federal contractors, large companies and health care providers to require their employees to get jabbed or face regular COVID-19 testing.Roy's far-right House Freedom Caucus sent a letter Wednesday urging GOP members of the U.S. Senate to hold up a proposal keeping the government funded unless they get a commitment to kill funding for the mandates, Buzzfeed reports.
“As you know, the current government funding mechanism expires on Friday night, thus the Senate Republican conference enjoys important leverage against those mandates,” the caucus wrote in its letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell obtained by the news site. “We therefore write to request that you use all procedural tools at your disposal to deny timely passage of the [funding measure] unless it prohibits funding — in all respects — for the vaccine mandates and enforcement thereof.”
It’s unclear how many Republicans back the plan, according to Buzzfeed, which also noted that any such government closure wouldn't last long. Democrats control both the House and Senate, and McConnell has said he has no interest in forcing a shutdown.
Last year, Roy told a right-wing radio host the pandemic was a hoax created by Democrats and bragging that he'd ignore CDC advice to limit Thanksgiving gatherings.
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