Republican Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde slammed House GOP leadership after he said they threatened to block his bill that focuses on pistol braces from coming to the floor if he votes “no” on the debt ceiling rule.
Clyde went after House leadership in an exclusive statement to the Daily Caller, accusing them of holding Americans’ Second Amendment rights “hostage” because he opposed a rule on legislation to raise the debt ceiling. Clyde said unnamed House Republican leadership called him Wednesday and told him it would be very difficult to bring his Congressional Review Act joint resolution to the floor if he voted against the debt ceiling rule. Clyde’s bill focuses on disapproval for the ATF’s pistol brace ruling.
“I’m severely disappointed that House Republican leadership is holding Americans’ Second Amendment rights hostage out of spite due to my ‘no’ vote on the debt ceiling rule. By reversing their decision to bring my stabilizing brace bill to the House floor next week, they’re not hurting me — they’re hurting millions of law-abiding gun owners, including many disabled Americans and service-disabled veterans, who now face harsh penalties for simply attaching a piece of plastic to their firearm,” Clyde told the Caller.
Clyde voted twice against the bipartisan legislation that would raise the nation’s debt ceiling.
“I came to Washington to defend our constitutional liberties, including our right to keep and bear arms — not cower to the Swamp when the going gets tough. I will continue to fight to bring H.J.Res. 44 to the floor for a vote so we can move one step closer to striking down the ATF’s unconstitutional pistol stabilizing brace rule,” he added.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (R) shares a laugh with Rep.-elect Andrew Clyde (R-GA) in the House Chamber during the fourth day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 06, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The news sparked criticism from Aidan Johnston, the Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America, who told the Caller: “It is unconscionable to treat our God-given rights as a bargaining chip to be leveraged in a smoke-filled back-room deal. Gun Owners of America couldn’t care less that ‘this is how the sausage gets made,’ and if the rumors are true, this is exactly why our members and supporters sent us to Washington, D.C., to protect and restore their Second Amendment rights without compromise.” (RELATED: Rep. Andrew Clyde Says GOP Leadership Threatened Him For Opposing Debt Ceiling Hike)
“We stand fully behind Congressman Clyde voting his conscience on the debt ceiling, and urge leadership to vote on H.J. Res. 44 with haste,” Johnston added. (RELATED: Texas Court Halts Biden ATF’s Pistol Brace Rule Hours Before Deadline)
A Texas district court judge on Wednesday paused the Biden administration’s new rule that would charge gun owners who failed to register their braced firearms with a felony. The ruling from the Texas judge only applied to employees of the state of Texas and gun owners of America members.