Higgins Breaks with Republicans, Says ‘Comatose’ Senate to Blame

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL — Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., broke with Republican leadership by voting against a rule on Tuesday in response to Republicans’ failure to act on key GOP priorities.

Higgins, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, sat down with the Daily Signal on Tuesday before the vote. He explained that his vote was in response to inaction on the part of Senate Republicans.

“I think three or four times in 10 years, I’ve opposed a Republican majority rule. That’s not a go-to weapon for me. But I’m opposing this rule,” Higgins said of the procedural mechanism that would have allowed a number of bills to receive a vote on the House floor.

“To vote no on a rule requires some very egregious actions from the establishment in some way,” Higgins continued. “In this case, it’s a total failure of the Senate and total acceptance of that behavior by my Republican colleagues over here. So, some of us are saying no.”

In the interview, Higgins pointed to times the Senate has failed House Republicans. Higgins cited the Senate’s refusal to pass the SAVE America Act and the third reconciliation package as examples.

“The House has passed those protections through multiple vehicles and delivered them to the upper chamber half a dozen times. Despite this, the comatose Senate has done nothing to advance these legislative priorities to President Trump’s desk,” Higgins said.

“The Senate has likewise declined to advance Reconciliation 3.0, which carries $12 billion in support for American farmers enduring unfair trade conditions by our adversaries,” he continued.

Until the Senate acts on those legislative items, Higgins said, “I’m a no on any Senate bill that comes over here.”

Moves like Higgins’s can cause headaches for Speaker Mike Johnson because of the razor-thin majority Republicans have in the lower chamber. Nevertheless, Higgins did commit to working with Johnson, House leadership, and the Trump administration to “compel action in the upper chamber.”

Higgins has worked especially closely with other House Freedom Caucus members, including Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, to pressure the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act. Harris and Roy also voted against Tuesday’s rule.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, also voted no on the rule. The rule passed, however, thanks to the help of two Democrats: Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., and Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.

Higgins is calling on all Republicans to “fight for priorities such as safeguarding federal elections and providing much-needed relief to our farmers through the Republican-led reconciliation process.”