Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) expressed anger at a social media account tied to House Republicans for posting a message in Spanish in another display of GOP infighting — this time from the party’s freshman class president.
“House Republicans believe in every American’s potential to thrive by embracing the power of work,” the House GOP’s account posted on X, followed by the Spanish translation.
In response, Gill posted, “Is this a joke, @HouseGOP? We’re in America. We represent Americans. We don’t pander in foreign languages. Speak English.”
Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz seemingly agreed with Gill, saying, “Epic.”
Around 14% of the U.S. population speaks Spanish. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to designate English as the country’s official language.
When asked for comment, Gill’s office referred the Washington Examiner to a follow-up post from the congressman’s personal account.
“It’s our voters who are displeased. GOP picked up Hispanic voters because of Trump’s working class appeal and our forceful rejection of wokeness,” Gill wrote. “Not because of patronizing tweets in foreign languages.”
“‘Press 1 for English’ is a rejection of conservatism and alienates our base,” he added.
The criticism comes as House Republicans are looking to expand their party’s support with Hispanic voters after Trump picked up a significant number of black and Hispanic votes during the 2024 election. In the 2020 election, Trump won just 35% of Latino voters, but in 2024, his support from Hispanic voters rose to 43%.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC) has made securing a larger fraction of the Hispanic vote in the 2026 midterm elections one of his top priorities, as he and other GOP leaders promise that Republicans will not only maintain but expand the House majority. The lower chamber historically flips to the party opposite that of the White House during midterm elections.
“I think [Hispanic voters] care about the same things every other voter cares about, which is the cost of things for their family, security, and safety in their neighborhoods, the southern border,” Hudson said in February. “These are all the issues that they care about. And so if we keep our promise in the election and deliver on those issues and then communicate with them about it, I think that’s the winning formula.”
House Republicans’ campaign arm has been working to expand its messaging to Spanish-speaking communities since taking the trifecta. As recently as Tuesday, the NRCC had pushed out five Spanish-language press releases targeting vulnerable California Democrats.
The NRCC declined to comment.
DEMOCRATS ON DEFENSE: 2026 PROJECTIONS SHOW GOP AT ADVANTAGE WITH COMPETITIVE HOUSE SEATS
House Democrats’ campaign arm is also looking to prioritize investments in Latino-heavy districts in 2026, adding a handful of lawmakers to its “Frontline” program whose districts trended further red or went for Trump in November.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for comment.