Congressman urging Texas to ignore the Supreme Court is backed by major law firms

Chip Roy (R-TX) speaks at a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on September 12, 2023 (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) is publicly urging Texas to ignore the Supreme Court. In previously unreported comments, Roy explained that he feared his position would push the country into "a post-constitutional world." But, Roy said, the Supreme Court is "pushing our hand" by issuing a ruling related to the southern border that he opposes, and the Supreme Court needs to "feel the pressure." 

Major law firms and numerous prominent corporations are financially backing Roy's reelection campaign, according to a Popular Information analysis of federal campaign finance filings. 

Roy's ire stems from litigation initiated by Texas regarding Shelby Park, a municipal park in Eagle Pass, Texas, that abuts the Rio Grande River. Texas has seized control of the park, enclosing the entire 47 acres in razor wire and denying entry to the U.S. Border Patrol. Access to Shelby Park is important to federal authorities because it is used as a "staging area for policing and interdiction operations along the Rio Grande." According to the federal government, the razor wire puts federal personnel and migrants in danger. Texas sued to prevent the federal government from removing the wire. 

Texas won a temporary injunction from the Fifth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals, which prohibited the federal government from disturbing the razor wire. But on January 22, in a brief order, the Supreme Court sided with the federal government and lifted the injunction. 

In response, Roy posted that the Supreme Court's decision was "unconscionable" and that Texas "should ignore it." 

The next day, Roy told Fox News that Texas should "tell the court to go to hell." 

On January 24, in a little-noticed interview with right-wing conspiracy theorist Charlie Kirk, Roy expanded on his thinking. Roy explained his position pushes the country to a "post-constitutional world." But Roy said he was willing to take that risk because he believed the threat of a Constitutional crisis would pressure the Supreme Court to issue more favorable rulings in the future.

I say this respectfully. I say it with the fear of what I’m saying. I do not want to live in a post-constitutional world, but this Court is pushing our hand, and the Court needs to know that… I want them to feel the pressure, because if they’re political animals, they need to know it. We were out there defending Amy Coney Barrett when her house was being protested, we said that the law should be enforced to protect her. Where is she when the people of Texas need to be protected? Totally M.I.A.

Roy also said that his "first duty" as Congressman was not to comply with the Constitution, which establishes the Supreme Court as the ultimate legal authority. Rather, Roy believes he should take whatever actions are necessary, in his own mind, to "make sure our people are protected and secure and safe."

I want to preserve and protect the Republican form of government that our country is built upon, and I want a strong America standing in front of the American flag. But my first duty as an elected official is, yes to the Constitution, but my first duty is to make sure that I’m protecting and following my job to make sure our people are protected and secure and safe. That’s what leaders of a state, of a sovereign entity, have to be concerned about, and so, that’s what we’re up against.

In other words, Roy believes his own opinion about what is required to keep people "secure and safe" trumps the Constitution. This is a radical view that would upend the nation's legal system. 

Roy's 2024 reelection campaign is supported by two prominent law firms. Covington & Burling is an international law firm based in Washington, DC. It has more than 60 lawyers who work in its Appellate and Supreme Court group, including 18 former Supreme Court clerks. The firm says its Supreme Court practice is known for its "glowing reputation." And yet, the firm's PAC donated $5,000 on April 24, 2023, to support the reelection of Roy, who believes that Supreme Court rulings can be ignored. Roy also received $750 on May 17, 2023, from the PAC of another prestigious DC-based law firm, Akin Gump, which maintains an appellate group that "regularly represent[s] parties and amici in the U.S. Supreme Court." Covington & Burling and Akin Gump did not respond to requests for comment. 

Since 2023, Roy has also received financial support from the PACs of major corporations and professional organizations, including Valero Energy ($2,500), Union Pacific ($2,000), iHeartMedia ($2,000), Toyota ($1,000), Dell ($1,000), and the National Association of Realtors ($1,000). Roy's corporate donors did not respond to requests for comment. 

The other Republicans thumbing their nose at the Supreme Court

Meanwhile, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) has suggested that states can overrule the Supreme Court if it “gets something wrong.” In a CNN appearance on January 26, the Republican Governor argued that because “the Constitution is the supreme law of the land” then “the Constitution supersedes somebody in Washington, DC telling us [what to do], you know.” In other words, states can defy the Supreme Court if they have a different interpretation of the Constitution. Stitt also insinuated that state authority can override the federal government: “The states have a right to defend themselves. The states created the federal government, the federal government did not create the states."

When asked by a NewsMax host if he thought the dispute could evolve into a “force-on-force conflict,” Stitt refused to directly answer the question. Instead, he replied that the border conflict is a “powder keg worth of tension.” The governor also claimed during the interview that if President Joe Biden were to federalize the National Guard troops, they “would be in a difficult situation to protect their homeland or follow what Biden’s saying.” In an interview with Kirk, Stitt said that such a move by the Biden administration would put National Guard members “in a tough situation trying to obey what they know is a very foolish policy.” The conflict, Stitt told Kirk, “is ready to go off.”

Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) has also made similar remarks. “[T]he feds are staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground,” the lawmaker said when asked for his thoughts on the Supreme Court’s ruling. According to the Texas Tribune, Higgins' post “was shared and celebrated widely in far-right online communities, including those that were integral to the planning of ‘stop the steal’ protests in the lead-up to the Jan. 6 riot.” 

According to campaign finance filings, both politicians have been bankrolled by some of the most prominent companies. Since 2022, corporate donors to Stitt include Deloitte ($8,500), BNSF Railway ($7,500), AT&T ($5,000), Marathon Petroleum ($5,000), NextEra Energy ($5,000), Boeing ($5,000), Tyson Foods ($5,000), Union Pacific ($5,000), and UnitedHealth Group ($5,000). 

Meanwhile, Higgins has received contributions from the following companies since 2022: Phillips 66 ($7,500), Entergy ($4,500), Chevron ($2,500), and Boeing ($1,000).

None of these companies responded to Popular Information’s requests for comment.