![Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy defended Sunday his flipped vote for Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, saying he wasn't promised anything in return for his change of heart. [Screenshot CNN]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Screenshot-2023-01-08-at-12.15.08-PM-e1673198192366.png "Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy defended Sunday his flipped vote for Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, saying he wasn't promised anything in return for his change of heart. [Screenshot CNN]")
Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy defended his flipped vote for Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, saying Sunday he wasn’t promised anything in return for his change of heart.
Roy had been adamantly outspoken against McCarthy, going so far as to nominate Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds on Wednesday for the role of Speaker. Roy finally changed his vote Friday after four days of voting.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Roy said his decision wasn’t about personal gain.
“We’re going through the steering process of getting folks on committees,” Roy said, noting he and other colleagues put forward a list in December of what type of reforms they’d like to see under new leadership.
“This isn’t about Chip Roy wants a spot on a committee. I haven’t been promised anything. I haven’t gotten anything out of this deal, me personally. Does that mean I’ll end up on a committee? Maybe, if that’s what my colleagues want.”
“What we have extracted is promises from the Speaker to make sure we have ideological diversity of representation on the committees,” Roy continued. “It’s not about petty personal desires.” (RELATED: ‘We’re Spending Money We Don’t Have’: Chip Roy Tears Into Dems, GOP Over Fast-Tracked Omnibus Bill)
Roy also commented on the tense exchange between Alabama Rep. Mike Rodgers and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. Gaetz refused to support McCarthy’s bid for House speaker on the 14th vote. When it became clear that McCarthy would not secure the required votes, Rodgers lunged at Gaetz and reportedly warned he would regret his decision.
“A little temporary conflict is necessary in this town in order to stop this town from rolling over the American people,” Roy said. “Some of the tensions you saw on display when we saw only some of the interactions between Mike Rodgers and Matt Gaetz, we need a little of that, we need a little of this breaking the glass in order to get to the table and fight for the American people and change the way this place is dysfunctional.”