Conservatives are thrilled that Texas Senator-elect Ted Cruz has named Chip Roy — a top aide to Rick Perry who’s well-liked in conservative circles — as his chief-of-staff.
Reacting to the appointment, Erick Erickson, the editor of the conservative RedState.com, declared in the title of a blog post: “Ted Cruz’s First Decision is a Huge Deal.”
Erickson said the pick of Roy indicates Cruz – unlike other Republicans in the past — isn’t falling for the “propensity to draw from K Street to pick staff.”
“It signals Senator-Elect Ted Cruz is not going to Washington sell out the conviction he ran on, but actually, as we’ve all known, does believe in federalism, the tenth amendment, and limited government,” Erickson wrote.
On Wednesday, Cruz called Roy a “proud Texan and a principled movement conservative who was an early supporter of my campaign.”
Roy helped Perry write his book Fed Up! ahead of the Texas governor’s unsuccessful bid for president.
“While I will miss his trusted counsel and consistent voice for liberty, he will take that much needed voice to Washington and serve Ted and our great state well,” Perry said.
His experience also includes stints as director of State-Federal Relations for the State of Texas, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas and staffer to Texas Sen. John Cornyn.
“Chip is the type of staffer who knows what direction is north and knows how to effectively move legislation there,” Michael A. Needham, the chief executive officer of Heritage Action for America, told The Daily Caller on Thursday.
“He’s fought for our nation’s founding principles in both Washington and Austin and has the battle scars to prove it,” he said.
Cruz, the former Texas solicitor general and a Cuban-American, is seen as rising star in the GOP.