Fox News host puts GOP Lawmaker on the spot: ‘What exactly does Congress do these days?’

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy was put in the hot seat during a Fox News interview as he admitted that lawmakers in Congress “aren’t getting the job done.”

In an appearance on “The Big Weekend Show” on Saturday, the Texas Republican was asked by Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe, “What exactly does Congress do these days?”

With the ongoing partial government shutdown reaching its second month, Boothe contended that Congress has “abdicated” duties as she pressed Roy on the lack of progress.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

Roy joked at first and noted he has been “butting my head against the wall” for four terms as a congressman before claiming Republicans in the House of Representatives “have been doing a good job moving legislation to the Senate,” despite many of the bills ending up dying there.

“The fact is, we aren’t getting the job done,” he then admitted.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Part of that is because we are bound by this big, broken, fake filibuster of 60 votes,” Roy said. “But part of it is you gotta have the willpower to do it. You gotta have 51 Republicans united in purpose in the Senate, and 218 in the House, to deliver.”

“The president is doing all of this great work, delivering on his campaign promises. Congress needs to step up and get it done,” he added, admitting that there are “very reasonable questions” about Congress “seeding too much authority” to the other branches of government.

“So some of this stuff is something that we got to keep working on to change things,” Roy said. adding that “some of the rules changes we put in place when we fought the speaker’s fight three years ago has helped us get some of this stuff done.”

“The House is getting stuff to the Senate. The Senate needs to move through its rules and get stuff moved through, or we’re never going to be able to have a legislative process that functions.”

President Donald Trump has also weighed in, pressing Republicans in the Senate to “END” the filibuster while saying Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has “gotta be a leader” and get the SAVE America Act passed.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It is time for the Senate Filibuster to END. Those weak and ineffective Republicans Senators that stand in the way of this should be exposed to the public. The Democrats are CRAZY!” Trump posted last month.

Meanwhile, Roy’s response to the question about an ineffective Congress sparked many reactions on social media.

ADVERTISEMENT

Frieda Powers

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles