Texas Congressman Chip Roy is not one of the MAGA goofballs. He even endorsed DeSantis over Trump. He was once Ted Cruz’s chief of staff so he’s an extremist but he isn’t stupid. As Judd Legum notes in his newsletter, there’s a method to his madness:
Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) is publicly urging Texas to ignore the Supreme Court. In previously unreported comments, Roy explained that he feared his position would push the country into “a post-constitutional world.” But, Roy said, the Supreme Court is “pushing our hand” by issuing a ruling related to the southern border that he opposes, and the Supreme Court needs to “feel the pressure.”
The next day, Roy told Fox News that Texas should “tell the court to go to hell.”
On January 24, in a little-noticed interview with right-wing conspiracy theorist Charlie Kirk, Roy expanded on his thinking. Roy explained his position pushes the country to a “post-constitutional world.” But Roy said he was willing to take that risk because he believed the threat of a Constitutional crisis would pressure the Supreme Court to issue more favorable rulings in the future.
I say this respectfully. I say it with the fear of what I’m saying. I do not want to live in a post-constitutional world, but this Court is pushing our hand, and the Court needs to know that… I want them to feel the pressure, because if they’re political animals, they need to know it. We were out there defending Amy Coney Barrett when her house was being protested, we said that the law should be enforced to protect her. Where is she when the people of Texas need to be protected? Totally M.I.A.
Roy also said that his “first duty” as Congressman was not to comply with the Constitution, which establishes the Supreme Court as the ultimate legal authority. Rather, Roy believes he should take whatever actions are necessary, in his own mind, to “make sure our people are protected and secure and safe.”
I want to preserve and protect the Republican form of government that our country is built upon, and I want a strong America standing in front of the American flag. But my first duty as an elected official is, yes to the Constitution, but my first duty is to make sure that I’m protecting and following my job to make sure our people are protected and secure and safe. That’s what leaders of a state, of a sovereign entity, have to be concerned about, and so, that’s what we’re up against.
In other words, Roy believes his own opinion about what is required to keep people “secure and safe” trumps the Constitution. This is a radical view that would upend the nation’s legal system.
Roy is a lawyer. He knows very well what he is saying. He’s trying to intimidate the Supreme Court — and if that doesn’t work, he’s ready to burn the Constitution.
Does he mean all this or is he just performing for the crowd? It’s hard to know. He’s also the guy who railed against his own party not long ago complaining that they hadn’t gotten anything done. (Perhaps we should ask just what it is he thinks should have been accomplished.) He’s a show boater just like his mentor Ted Cruz. But what he’s saying about defying the Supreme Court is a rank betrayal of his oath of office, either way.