Chip Roy defends vote to kill censure against Rashida Tlaib as it fractures conservatives

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, dismissed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resolution to censure progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., as ‘feckless’ on Wednesday night.

The resolution led by Greene, R-Ga., was killed when 22 Republicans and all House Democrats voted to table it before it could be voted on. The final tally was 222 votes to 186. 

‘Rep. Rashida Tlaib has repeatedly made outrageous remarks toward Israel and the Jewish people. Her conduct is unbecoming of a member of Congress and certainly worthy of condemnation — if not censure,’ Roy began in a statement provided Wednesday to Fox News Digital.

‘However, tonight’s feckless resolution to censure Tlaib was deeply flawed and made legally and factually unverified claims, including the claim of leading an ‘insurrection.’’

He continued, ‘I voted to table the resolution. In January 2021, the legal term insurrection was stretched and abused by many following the events at the Capitol. We should not continue to perpetuate claims of ‘insurrection’ at the Capitol and we should not abuse the term now.’ 

Greene had earlier released a list of the Republicans who voted to table the censure and derided them as ‘feckless.’

In her bill to censure Tlaib over her participation in a massive Israel-Gaza ceasefire protest on Capitol Hill, during which hundreds of demonstrators were arrested in the Cannon House Office building, Greene repeatedly referred to the protest as an ‘insurrection.’

The House vote Wednesday that killed the resolution has led to open war between hardliners in the GOP conference.

Greene hit back at Roy’s explanation in an X post on Thursday morning: ‘You voted to kick me out of the freedom caucus, but keep CNN wannabe Ken Buck and vaping groping Lauren Boebert and you voted with the Democrats to protect Terrorist Tlaib.’

Roy mocked Greene when asked for a response later that morning.

‘Tell her to go chase so-called Jewish space lasers if she wants to spend time on that sort of thing,’ he said.

Greene again posted about Roy on X late on Thursday morning, challenging his pushback on her use of the word ‘insurrection.’

‘Until you force the enemies to live by the same rules, they’re going to keep stomping our faces in the pavement,’ she said. ‘Chip Roy will be reciting his powdered wig soliloquies as Americans are marched to the firing squads.’