(ConservativeSense.com) – Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) has said he will vote against raising the debt ceiling if Republicans bring any immigration bills to the House floor. “Bring unchristian, anti-immigrant bills to the floor and I am a NO on the debt ceiling,” he said.
The two parties on Capitol Hill remain deadlocked on raising the ceiling. The Biden administration wants it raised, but Republicans will only consent to do so if the government agrees to cut spending. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said there has still been no progress on the issue.
McCarthy wants legislation to protect the southern border introduced, but Gonzales may now have made life more difficult for him. Republicans have only a slim majority in the House and statements such as these from the Texas Rep. will weaken the Speaker’s hand in negotiations with the White House.
McCarthy recently issued a series of demands to the President, among them measures to strengthen border security and “strengthening work requirements for those without dependents who can work.” McCarthy said there has still been no progress on the issue.
Despite being a Republican Representative of a border state, Gonzales has resisted measures to bring order to the region. He has fiercely opposed new proposals by fellow Texan Chip Roy, which he claims will prevent anyone from claiming asylum in the US. In a swipe at non-border Republicans, he said, “While some people may parachute in and parachute out, we live it every single day.”
However, he has remained a thorn in the side of GOP attempts to tackle record numbers of illegal border crossers. He has been accused of being a RINO (Republican In Name Only) by some conservative commentators, and of aiding Joe Biden’s attempts to undermine border security.
Chip Roy, without naming Gonzales, said “someone should do a long, hard look in the mirror at what they’re trying to sell their constituents and the rest of the American people.”
Copyright 2023, ConservativeSense.com
