Chip Roy becomes latest lawmaker to defy leadership on ‘nuclear option’

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) on Monday became the latest Republican to flirt with invoking the “nuclear option” to end the gridlock in the Senate that has catapulted the government into one of the longest shutdowns in history.

Congressional Republican leaders have thus far steadfastly opposed applying the rarely used legislative maneuver as a workaround to Democratic opposition to the GOP-backed continuing resolution seeking to open the government. But patience is growing thin among some rank-and-file Republican members as the shutdown stretches into the third week, with lawmakers such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) eyeing the tactic as a way to end the gridlock.