Rep. Chip Roy gives ultimatum to GOP to vote no on NDAA unless 'daughter draft' is removed from legislation

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for October 5

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

FIRST ON FOX: Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy urged his fellow GOP colleagues to vote no on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) unless a provision that would open the draft to women is dissolved. 

In a Wednesday letter to Republicans in the House and Senate, Roy warned that if any of them voted for the NDAA as it stands now, they will never receive his vote for "President, Speaker, Leader, or otherwise."

The House passed its version of the $768 billion Pentagon funding bill last month in 316-113 vote with 134 Republicans and 182 Democrats voting in favor of the NDAA. 

GOP BACKS DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT THAT REQUIRES WOMEN TO REGISTER FOR DRAFT

Though the Texas Republican said there were two measures in the NDAA he took issue with, including "red flag" gun laws, his reservations over "drafting our daughters" took center stage. 

In a four-page letter first reviewed by Fox News, Roy responded to eight defenses he called "unbelievably absurd," in support of registering women ages 18-25 for the Selective Service System. 

Roy pushed back on the argument that the draft will be easier to abolish if women are included under the guise of equality. 

"We shouldn’t gamble with the lives of our wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters who wish not serve in the military, and why must we accept the premise that the only way to avoid an asinine policy of drafting women is to abolish the draft?" he wrote. 

The congressman additionally countered arguments that have suggested women would never actually be drafted, and if they were, it would only be "necessary" to form a "massive" armed service "to fight the Chinese."

"This is either a lie or just an extraordinary level of gullibility," he said, arguing Democrats do not "believe the sexes are different."

Roy said there are already thousands of women who volunteer to serve in the armed services and would continue to do so if the U.S. entered another war. 

He further pointed to the roughly 17 million men of "draft-registration age," who along with 60 million men ages 18-49 would be able to take up arms if a global campaign broke out.  

WHITE HOUSE 'STRONGLY OPPOSES' CREATION OF SPACE NATIONAL GUARD IN NDAA

Roy thanked those women who have been injured or killed in their voluntary service in the U.S. military, and noted: "Certain women can be as capable as certain men."

"On average, however, it’s simply not true that in combat settings both sexes fare the same overall," he added, pointing to studies conducted through the Army and Marines. 

Some proponents of female draft registration have used Israel as a supportive case in their argument, as the Jewish nation has relied on mandatory enrollment of women in its armed services since 1949.

But in his letter to GOP lawmakers, Roy took issue with this comparison as well. 

"We have 1.3 million active-duty volunteer troops, Israel has about 170,000 with conscription in a far more hostile position than ours," the congressman wrote. 

But Roy ultimately concluded his argument with a concern much closer to home.

"I don’t want my daughter drafted just so you can get the yuks," he said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Texas Republican argued that forcing millions of women to join the military should not be a law passed in a nearly $800 billion spending bill, but should be open for debate and public discussion. 

The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the NDAA later this month. Leaders from the House and Senate will then conference to finalize the legislation that will ultimately land on President Biden’s desk.