As House Speaker Mike Johnson aims to retain his role, Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., took aim at fellow Republican Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX, who has indicated he is “undecided” on the issue. Whether he will vote for Johnson or not.
President-elect Donald Trump endorsed Johnson for the post this week, but Roy said during an appearance on Fox Business that he doesn’t think the speaker will have the votes needed to win during the upcoming Friday vote.
Van Orden claimed in a post on X that Trump “got a mandate from the American people in November,” while Roy “did not.”
Van Orden claimed, “This is America’s first agenda, not Chip Roy’s first agenda. This is to make America great again, not make Chip Roy great again. President Trump is fighting for America, Chip is fighting for his Fighting to keep the brand marketable.”
What to know about the race for Speaker of the House?
Left: Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., speaks to the media before voting on a resolution continuing to fund the government at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024; Right: Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX, arrives at a House Republican Conference meeting at 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 clearly need to understand that to be a leader, you first have to learn to follow. I would love to work with Chip, but he needs to understand that he can be part of the team, But there’s no way in hell he’s the Captain. The Captain will be back in the White House soon and his first lieutenant is @SpeakerJohnson,” Van Orden announced in the post.
Fox News Digital contacted a Roy spokesperson to request comment from the congressman.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has announced he will not vote for Johnson to remain speaker.
Roy has said he is “undecided” on Johnson, but is calling for change.
A traveller’s guide to failing to elect the Speaker of the House soon.
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, unlike the GOP who voted with the Dems (Dems over GOP every time) to spend almost $3 trillion and give $61B to Ukraine with no border security,” Roy said in a post. “Voted for.” X.
“The reason I’m still undecided on the Speaker vote (as opposed to a hard no) is that this is not all @SpeakerJohnson’s fault and my wish is to give him the grace and space to work on a stronger agenda for @realDonaldTrump to call for.” We were elected but something must change,” he said.
Johnson’s path to victory is uncertain, and could be derailed if another Republican joins Massey in strongly opposing Johnson’s bid to retain the speakership.
Representative. Victoria Spartz demands ‘assurance’ from Speaker Johnson ‘will not sell us out’
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)
Click here to get the Fox News app
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reported, “The winning candidate must win an absolute majority of all members voting for the nominated candidate.”
Pergram described a possible scenario in which only two Republicans could prevent Johnson from reaching the threshold needed to win. “So let’s say there are 434 members and everyone votes on someone’s name. The magic number is 218. If Johnson gets the votes of all 219 Republicans, he wins. If Johnson gets 218 votes, he “But 217? No dice,” Pergram noted.
