- Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy called on his colleagues to stop funding the DHS.
- He said that the department "refuses to secure the border."
Texas Representative Chip Roy called on fellow Republicans on Monday to seek out a new solution for the border: a defunded Department of Homeland Security.
In a speech to the House, Roy said Texans were "struggling" and claimed Republicans would seek to strip funding from the DHS this year.
The department oversees US Customs and Border Protection.
"So it's time right now for the House majority to do our job and we're going to have to stop funding a Department of Homeland Security that refuses to secure the border of the United States," Roy said.
—Acyn (@Acyn) January 10, 2023
The comments came after President Joe Biden took a trip to El Paso, Texas on Monday following calls from GOP critics that the president should visit the border for himself.
In a news conference on Thursday, Biden told reporters Republicans had not been "serious" about the issue of border reform and said GOP members turned down a request for additional funding to add more holding facilities, transportation, and more asylum officers and immigration judges.
DHS has become a favorite target of the GOP, who blame the agency for what they see as missteps at the border. Rep. Kevin McCarthy has even called for the resignation Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Roy's call also follows a recent trend of Republicans seeking to defund various agencies, such as the FBI.
A representative for Roy did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.