WATCH: Chip Roy Unloads On House Democrats In Hearing And Storms Out

Firebrand freshman Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) slammed House Democrats on Thursday for prioritizing a “fishing expedition” into senior White House aides’ communications instead of focusing upon the needs of the American people.

“We’re not doing anything to stop and deal with the problems we got, with cartels managing the border,” Roy said during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. “We’re sitting here in a fishing expedition for emails, alleging that we’re trying to do that in compliance with the law that’s being complied with.”

“In what universe is this what we’re supposed to be doing for the United States of America, for the people in this country who are watching their country racking up mountains of debt — $320 billion over existing spending levels, which would still give us a trillion dollar deficit,” he continued. “Well done, Congress. Well done.”

Roy’s remarks came after the Oversight Committee voted to subpoena officials in the Trump administration to gain access to their private emails and social media messages — including senior advisor Jared Kushner’s communication with foreign officials over WhatsApp and information obtained from Ivanka Trump’s personal email account.

House Democrats argue that senior White House aides may have violated the Presidential Records Act by using the aforementioned platforms to conduct official business, reported Politico.

“Why are we doing this because they’re working with us to comply with the law to turn over information to follow what the chairman was just saying,” Roy said. “In the meantime, while we are doing this, while we are sitting here, as I’ve pointed out before for the hour we’re going to be debating this, another $100 million of debt has been racked up. Another how many thousands of people have poured across our border. How much more control have we yielded to cartels who truly control and run our border? That’s what we’re dealing about.”

Roy read to the Committee a text message that he received from a United States Border Patrol agent explaining that some of the agents who were originally tasked with patrolling the border have been reassigned to security detail at detention facilities.

“All the agencies that are helping us are doing detention security, hospital watch, sandwich making, handing out hygienic items and milk, and transportation,” the Texas congressman read from his phone.

“And you’re going to have that kind of level of spending while we’ve got wide open borders — what are we doing for the people of the United States?” he continued. “I’m going to be told ‘oh, we’re protecting the law,’ [but] the law’s being complied with — when instead it’s a fishing expedition for political purposes.”

Roy noted that the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony to two separate House committees on Wednesday was another example of a politically driven fishing expedition wherein Americans “got nothing other than dawdling responses about an incompetent effort.”

“Here we sit, mounting up debt for our children and grandchildren ... it’s extraordinary,” Roy said. “Wide open borders destroying communities, endangering the lives of Americans in south Texas while I get smirks from my Democratic colleagues, while there are people right now facing attacks from cartels.”

“Dealing with it on a daily basis and we get smirks, and we get requests for emails from people in the White House,” he continued. “This is the face of the Democratic Party. This is the face of your Congress today, America.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) took offense to Roy’s fiery condemnation of House Democrats.

“Shame on my colleague from Texas,” Connelly said.

“Shame on this body,” Roy replied. “You’ll continue to hear from me in defense of this country.”