Rep.-elect Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) said she has been pleasantly surprised by the unity of House Republicans as they prepare to take the majority in January, even as several detractors seek to sink Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) bid for speaker of the House.
The mood in the conference is much more unified than news reports would have people believe, De La Cruz told the Washington Examiner at Friday’s office lottery for freshmen representatives. De La Cruz won a historic victory in a South Texas district that hasn’t voted for a Republican in over a century.
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“What has actually surprised me is just what a united conference that we are, how Speaker McCarthy has a great vision for the Republican Party, and how the delegation is championing his vision,” De La Cruz said of her first few weeks in Congress at freshman orientation. “And it’s unfortunate that the media portrays it not to be so. … But the Republican Party is excited to be in the majority and stand behind the vision of the speaker.”
She added that her top priority upon entering Congress in January is equipping Border Patrol agents with the tools they need to guard the southern border. Texas’s 15th Congressional District was redrawn for the 2022 election to include a larger portion of the border.
“First thing for our community is the border and making sure that the border is represented on the national stage and getting the resources to our Border Patrol men and women — resources as simple as night vision goggles that our Border Patrol … should have, but unfortunately, under this administration, they’ve lacked resources to do their job,” she said.
De La Cruz was the only member of a trifecta of Republican Latina candidates in South Texas districts to make it to Congress when she won against progressive Democrat Michelle Vallejo for the open seat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) vacated due to redistricting. She was endorsed by former President Donald Trump as well as McCarthy.
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Hard-line lawmakers aligned with the conservative Freedom Caucus are planning to vote against McCarthy during the all-House vote on Jan. 3, the first day of the 118th Congress. Due to the GOP’s slim majority, McCarthy can only afford to lose four votes because the speaker needs the approval of half of the entire lower chamber. The five Republicans planning to oppose him or vote “present” are former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who challenged McCarthy for the in-conference nomination, and Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), and Bob Good (R-VA).
