Freedom Caucus
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The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and furthest-right bloc within the chamber.[1][2][3][4][5] The caucus was formed in January 2015 by a group of conservatives and Tea Party movement members,[6][7] with the aim of pushing the Republican leadership to the right.[2] Its first chairperson, Jim Jordan, described the caucus as a "smaller, more cohesive, more agile and more active" group of conservative representatives.[8]
The caucus is positioned
After the
History
The caucus originated during the mid–January 2015 Republican congressional retreat in
At the retreat in Pennsylvania, the group settled on the name Freedom Caucus. Mick Mulvaney told Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker, "We had twenty names, and all of them were terrible. None of us liked the Freedom Caucus, either, but it was so generic and so universally awful that we had no reason to be against it." According to Lizza, "one of the working titles for the group was the Reasonable Nutjob Caucus."[27][29]
During the crisis over the funding of the
Opposition to Speaker of the House John Boehner
The newly formed group declared that a criterion for new members in the group would be opposition to John Boehner as Speaker of the House and willingness to vote against or thwart him on legislation that the group opposed.[31]
The House Freedom Caucus was involved in the resignation of Boehner on September 25, 2015, and the ensuing leadership battle for the new speaker.[32] Members of the caucus who had voted against Boehner for speaker felt unfairly punished, accusing him of cutting them off from positions in the Republican Study Committee and depriving them of key committee assignments.[33][34] Boehner found it increasingly difficult to manage House Republicans with the fierce opposition of conservative members of the Republican Party in the House, and he sparred with those House Republicans in 2013 over their willingness to shut down the government in pursuit of goals such as repealing the Affordable Care Act. These Republicans later created and became members of the Freedom Caucus when it was created in 2015.[31][35][36][37]
After Boehner resigned as speaker,
On October 20, 2015, Paul Ryan announced that his bid for the speaker of the United States House of Representatives was contingent on an official endorsement by the Freedom Caucus.[42] While the group could not reach the 80% approval that was needed to give an official endorsement, on October 21, 2015, it announced that it had reached a supermajority support for Ryan.[43] On October 29, 2015, Ryan succeeded Boehner as the speaker of the House.[44]
On October 30, 2017, Vanity Fair published an interview with Boehner, who said of the Freedom Caucus: "They can't tell you what they're for. They can tell you everything they're against. They're anarchists. They want total chaos. Tear it all down and start over. That's where their mindset is."[45]
Backlash in 2016
The group faced backlash from the Republican Party establishment during the 2016 election cycle.
During Trump administration
Following the election of Donald Trump, Mulvaney said, "Trump wants to turn Washington upside down – that was his first message and his winning message. We want the exact same thing. To the extent that he's got to convince Republicans to change Washington, we're there to help him ... and I think that makes us Donald Trump's best allies in the House."[48] Freedom Caucus vice chair Jim Jordan said that during the Trump administration, the Freedom Caucus shifted focus from passing legislation to defending the President.[49]
Rejection of American Health Care Act in 2017
On March 24, 2017, the
Two days later, President Donald Trump publicly criticized the Freedom Caucus and other right-wing groups, such as the Club for Growth and Heritage Action, that opposed the bill. Trump tweeted: "Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Obamacare!"[53][54] On the same day, Congressman Ted Poe of Texas resigned from the Freedom Caucus.[55] On March 30, 2017, Trump "declared war" on the Freedom Caucus, sending a tweet urging Republicans to "fight them" in the 2018 midterm elections "if they don't get on the team" (i.e., support Trump's proposals).[56] Vocal Freedom Caucus member Justin Amash responded by accusing Trump of "succumb[ing] to the D.C. Establishment."[57]
Trump later developed a closer relationship with the caucus chair,
During first impeachment of Trump
In May 2019, the Freedom Caucus officially condemned one of its founding members,
During the
Meadows's appointment as WH chief of staff and Liz Cheney criticism
In March 2020, former Freedom Caucus chair Mark Meadows was appointed as White House chief of staff, replacing Mick Mulvaney, who was also a founding member of the Freedom Caucus.[65]
Freedom Caucus members have called on
2020 National Defense Authorization Act
In December 2020, the caucus sided with Donald Trump and opposed the
Role in attempting to overturn 2020 election and opposition to second Trump impeachment
After Trump lost
2021–present
America First Caucus and MAGA Squad
In April 2021, a faction within the Freedom Caucus, led by Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene, attempted to form a new splinter group called the "America First Caucus," along with Matt Gaetz. Senior members of the Freedom Caucus reportedly reacted with "fury" to the proposal, with Ken Buck publicly denouncing it.[74] The new caucus was later scrapped.[75]
Later, a faction emerged of Trump loyalists within the Freedom Caucus known as the '
In June 2023, following a feud with Boebert, Greene was expelled from the Freedom Caucus.[80][81]
State Freedom Caucus Network
In December 2021, the Freedom Caucus officially expanded to the state level, establishing the 'State Freedom Caucus Network' in state legislatures to provide legislators with additional resources.[25] The group has state-level caucuses in ten states: Arizona, Idaho, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and Illinois.[82]
Aside from the caucuses affiliated with the State Freedom Caucus Network, several state-level caucuses describing themselves as the "Freedom Caucus" exist in other state legislatures, including in Texas,[83] New Hampshire,[84] North Carolina,[85] Washington,[86] and Michigan.[87]
In February 2023, David Schweikert cited the state level Arizona Freedom Caucus's association with populism as the reason for him leaving the Freedom Caucus on the federal level.[88]
Respect for Marriage Act
In July 2022, the caucus split over the Respect for Marriage Act, which recognized a statutory right to same-sex marriage. All members voted against except Chairperson Scott Perry (R-PA), who joined 46 other Republicans and all Democrats in voting for the bill. The Freedom Caucus adopted a formal position urging Senate Republicans to block the bill, and Perry later voted against its final passage.[89] To take a formal position on legislation, the Freedom Caucus requires the support of 80% of the caucus's members.[89]
118th Congress House Republican leadership elections (2023)
In the November 2022 elections, Republicans narrowly regained control of the House of Representatives that opened in January 2023. The Freedom Caucus was actively involved in the ensuing House Republican leadership elections, but was divided over whether to challenge House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's bid to be Speaker of the House of Representatives.[90] Before the internal House Republican election, the caucus issued an array of demands that would fundamentally change House procedure by weakening the power of the speaker and strengthening the power of both the caucus and rank-and-file House Republicans as a whole.[91] These included making it easier to oust a speaker by reviving the motion to vacate the chair; allowing ten percent of the Republican conference to force a vote on any amendment, thus reducing the speaker's control over legislation; and codifying the Hastert rule ("majority-of-the-majority" rule), which would block all legislation except those supported by a majority of House Republicans.[91]
Former caucus chair Andy Biggs launched a challenge to McCarthy,[92] but McCarthy earned the Republican nomination for speaker,[93] by defeating Biggs in a 188–31 secret ballot vote,[94] with an additional five Republicans writing in other names.[95] McCarthy ran with the endorsement of other Freedom Caucus members, such as vice chair Jim Jordan,[96] David Schweikert,[97] and Marjorie Taylor Greene.[98] Caucus member Byron Donalds also ran for House Republican Conference chair, but lost to incumbent Elise Stefanik,[99] while member Andrew Clyde ran for House Republican Conference secretary, but lost to Lisa McClain.[100]
McCarthy needed 218 votes from the House floor to be elected speaker in the January 3, 2023, vote.
2023 conflict with Marjorie Taylor Greene
After the contested House Speaker election, Marjorie Taylor Greene broke with the caucus's positions and aligned herself with McCarthy.
On June 21, 2023, Greene engaged in a heated conversation with fellow caucus member Lauren Boebert on the House floor, in which the former called the latter a "little bitch."[106] As a result of this incident, the caucus moved to expel Greene in a secret vote prior to the Fourth of July recess.[107]
2023 debt-ceiling crisis
In May 2023, Speaker McCarthy worked with the Biden administration to pass a compromise debt-ceiling reform and spending bill, with the Freedom Caucus supporting the bills as part of the compromise that got McCarthy elected speaker.[108] By suspending the debt ceiling until January 2025, the government avoided a first-ever default. The spending bill focused on issues such as military construction and veterans affairs.[109][110]
Removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker
In September 2023, the federal government appeared poised to shut down after representatives could not vote on a series of appropriations bills.[111] The Freedom Caucus threatened to depose McCarthy if he turned to Democrats to gather more votes.[112] On September 29, Politico reported that Representative Matt Gaetz had reached out to Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal, among other Democrats about removing McCarthy.[113] The following day, hours before a shutdown was expected to occur, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan continuing resolution to fund the government through November 17. The resolution was passed in the Senate and signed by President Joe Biden, averting a shutdown.[114] Representative Matt Gaetz, who had led resistance to McCarthy,[115] announced in an interview with CNN that he would move to remove McCarthy for working with Democrats.[116]
On October 2, Gaetz filed a motion to vacate, forcing a vote on McCarthy's removal within two legislative days.[117] Voting began the following day; McCarthy ruled out a deal with Democrats. Representative Tom Cole unsuccessfully moved to table the motion. The House proceeded with a successful vote to vacate on a 216–210 vote, the first time in congressional history that the chair was vacated.[118]
Policy positions
The caucus is positioned right-wing[9] to far-right[10] on the political spectrum. On October 30, 2017, Vanity Fair published an interview with John Boehner, who said of the Freedom Caucus: "They can't tell you what they're for. They can tell you everything they're against. They're anarchists. They want total chaos. Tear it all down and start over. That's where their mindset is."[45]
After the
Leadership
The current chair of the caucus is Representative Bob Good from Virginia, with Representative Jim Jordan as the deputy chair. In January 2022, Representative Lauren Boebert was elected as communications chair, Representative Warren Davidson as whip, and Representative Chip Roy as policy chair.[119]
Chair | Term start | Term end | Tenure | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jim Jordan | February 11, 2015 | January 3, 2017 | 1 year, 327 days | |
2 | Mark Meadows | January 3, 2017[120] | October 1, 2019 | 2 years, 271 days | |
3 | Andy Biggs | October 1, 2019[121] | January 1, 2022 | 2 years, 92 days | |
4 | Scott Perry | January 1, 2022 | January 1, 2024[122] | 2 years, 0 days | |
5 | Bob Good | January 1, 2024 | Incumbent[123] | 114 days |
Membership
Membership policy
The House Freedom Caucus does not disclose the names of its members and membership is by invitation only.[124][125] The New York Times wrote in October 2015 that the caucus usually meets "in the basement of a local pub rather than at the Capitol."[126] The caucus acts as a bloc, with decisions that are supported by 80 percent made binding on all of its members, which has strengthened its influence among House Republicans.[2]
Historical membership
As the HFC does not publicize a full membership list, the known number of members at the start of each electoral cycle is listed below.
Election year | Republican seats | ± |
---|---|---|
2016 | 28 / 241
|
New |
2018 | 29 / 199
|
1 |
2020 | 44 / 213
|
15 |
2022 | 45 / 222
|
1 |
Current members
A number of members have identified themselves, or have been identified by others, as belonging to the Freedom Caucus. There are at least 41 caucus members as of March 2024[update]; those members include:
- Barry Moore (AL-2)[127]
- Gary Palmer (AL-6)[128]
- Eli Crane (AZ-2)[129]
- Andy Biggs (AZ-5)[130]
- Debbie Lesko (AZ-8) (Retiring at the end of the 118th congress)[131]
- Paul Gosar (AZ-9)[132]
- Lauren Boebert (CO-3) – Communications Chair[133]
- Bill Posey (FL-8)[134]
- Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13)[135]
- Greg Steube (FL-17)[136]
- Byron Donalds (FL-19)[137]
- Andrew Clyde (GA-9)[138]
- Mike Collins (GA-10)[139]
- Russ Fulcher (ID-1)[140]
- Mary Miller (IL-15)[141]
- Clay Higgins (LA-3)[142]
- Andy Harris (MD-1)[143]
- Eric Burlison (MO-7)[144]
- Matt Rosendale (MT-2) (Retiring at the end of the 118th congress)[145]
- Greg Murphy (NC-3)[146]
- Dan Bishop (NC-8) (Retiring at the end of the 118th congress to run for Attorney General)[147]
- Jim Jordan (OH-4) – Vice chair[148]
- Warren Davidson (OH-8) – Whip[149]
- Josh Brecheen (OK-2)[129]
- Scott Perry (PA-10)[150]
- Jeff Duncan (SC-3) (Retiring at the end of the 118th congress)[151]
- Ralph Norman (SC-5)[152]
- Diana Harshbarger (TN-1)[153]
- Scott DesJarlais (TN-4)[154]
- Andy Ogles (TN-5)[129]
- Mark Green (TN-7)[155]
- Keith Self (TX-3)[156]
- Chip Roy (TX-21) – Policy Chair[157]
- Troy Nehls (TX-22)[158]
- Michael Cloud (TX-27)[159]
- Alex Mooney (WV-2)[163] (retiring at the end of the 118th congress to run for Senate)
- Tom Tiffany (WI-7)[164]
- Harriet Hageman (WY-AL)[165]
Former members
- Justin Amash of Michigan (left caucus in 2019)[61]
- Brian Babin of Texas (left caucus in 2017)[166]
- Joe Barton of Texas (retired in 2018)[167]
- Rod Blum of Iowa (defeated in 2018 general election)[150]
- Dave Brat of Virginia (defeated in 2018 general election)[168]
- Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma (resigned in 2018 to become NASA Administrator)[169]
- Mo Brooks of Alabama[170] (retired to run unsuccessfully for senate in Alabama 2022)
- Ken Buck of Colorado (voted out of caucus days before he resigned from the House in 2024)[171]
- Ted Budd of North Carolina (retired to run successfully for senator in North Carolina 2022)
- Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina (defeated for renomination in 2022 primary election)[172]
- Curt Clawson of Florida (retired in 2016)[173]
- governor of Florida)
- John Fleming of Louisiana (retired in 2016 to unsuccessfully run for nomination as Senator from Louisiana)[174]
- Scott Garrett of New Jersey (defeated in 2016 general election)[148]
- Tom Garrett Jr. of Virginia (retired in 2018)[175]
- Attorney General of Texas)[176]
- Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia (removed from the caucus in 2023)[177]
- Yvette Herrell of New Mexico (defeated in 2022 general election)
- Jody Hice of Georgia (retired in 2022 to run unsuccessfully for Georgia Secretary of State)[178]
- Tim Huelskamp of Kansas (defeated for renomination in 2016 primary election)[179]
- Fred Keller of Pennsylvania (retired in 2022)
- Governor of Idaho)[148]
- Doug Lamborn of Colorado (left caucus in 2016)[180]
- Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming (retired in 2016)[182]
- Tom McClintock of California (left caucus in 2015)[169]
- Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina (resigned in 2017 to become OMB Director)[148]
- TMTG)
- Steve Pearce of New Mexico (retired in 2018 to run unsuccessfully for Governor of New Mexico)[182]
- Ted Poe of Texas (left caucus in 2017)[183]
- Reid Ribble of Wisconsin (left caucus in 2015)[41]
- Denver Riggleman of Virginia (defeated for renomination in 2020 primary election)[184]
- Dana Rohrabacher of California (defeated in 2018 general election)[185][186]
- Keith Rothfus of Pennsylvania (left caucus in 2016)[187][188]
- Matt Salmon of Arizona (retired in 2016)[148]
- Mark Sanford of South Carolina (defeated in 2018 primary election)[150]
- David Schweikert of Arizona (left the caucus in 2023)[189]
- Marlin Stutzman of Indiana (retired in 2016 to unsuccessfully run for nomination as Senator from Indiana)[150]
- Randy Weber of Texas (left the caucus in 2024)[190]
- Ron Wright of Texas (died in 2021)[191]
- Ted Yoho of Florida (retired in 2020)[192]
See also
Further reading
References
- ^ Carl, Jeremy (October 13, 2015). "The Freedom Caucus Is a Rebellion That Could Change the GOP's Future". Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ a b c Desilver, Drew (October 20, 2015). "House Freedom Caucus: What is it, and who's in it?". Pew Research Center. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ Ethier, Beth (January 26, 2015). "House Conservatives Form "Freedom Caucus" as Right-Wing Rebellion Continues". Slate. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ Lauren Fox, Why (almost) everyone hates the House Freedom Caucus, CNN (March 24, 2017): "At first, there were just nine of them, but the group, which is considered the most right flank of the Republican conference, grew."
- ^ Mark Barrett, Meadows in line to lead House’s most conservative wing, ‘’Asheville Citizen-Times’’ (December 3, 2016): "the House Freedom Caucus, which occupies the furthest-right position on the ideological spectrum in the U.S. House..."
- ^ French, Lauren (January 26, 2015). "9 Republicans launch House Freedom Caucus". Politico. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ Ferrechio, Susan (January 26, 2015). "Conservative lawmakers form House Freedom Caucus". Washington Examiner. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ Eaton, Sabrina (February 11, 2015). "It's official: Rep. Jim Jordan now chairs the House Freedom Caucus". Cleveland. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ a b The Freedom Caucus has been widely described as right-wing:
- Cheadle, Harry (March 22, 2017). "The Right-Wing 'Freedom Caucus' Says It's Going to Kill Trumpcare". Vice. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
- Roy, Avik (April 2, 2017). "GOP Centrists, Not Freedom Caucus, Are Blocking Deal To Replace Obamacare". Forbes. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
The conventional wisdom – repeated by President Trump – is that the right-wing House Freedom Caucus is singlehandedly blocking Republican attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare.
- Beavers, Olivia (March 26, 2017). "Republican quits House Freedom Caucus". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) resigned Sunday from the House Freedom Caucus, indicating he did so because he wanted to vote for the Republican healthcare proposal the right-wing caucus so adamantly opposed.
- Lizza, Ryan (December 7, 2015). "A House divided". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
Meadows is one of the more active members of the House Freedom Caucus, an invitation-only group of about forty right-wing conservatives that formed at the beginning of this year.
- French, Lauren (March 14, 2016). "House Freedom Caucus to break with leadership on budget". Politico. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
Budget Committee Chairperson Tom Price of Georgia and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have labored to gain the support of the far-right caucus
- Thrush, Glenn (March 25, 2017). "Trump Becomes Ensnared in Fiery G.O.P. Civil War". The New York Times.
- Fabian, Jordan (March 30, 2017). "Trump on the warpath against Freedom Caucus". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- Woolf, Nicky (October 7, 2015). "Republicans in Freedom Caucus support Florida conservative as speaker". The Guardian.
- Newhauser, Daniel (June 24, 2015). "Boehner-vs.-Freedom-Caucus Battle Escalates". National Journal. Archived from the original on July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- Sullivan, Sean (March 4, 2015). "Insurgent bloc of House conservatives proving to be a thorn in Boehner's side". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- Bush, Daniel (January 22, 2018). "Who's to blame for the government shutdown? A look at the political fallout". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^ S2CID 206411764.
The far-right Freedom Caucus in the House called for full repeal whatever the consequences, but by then the ACA had become more popular with the public and even drew support...
the group of hardline conservatives ... the socially conservative House Freedom Caucus
the group's small-government, socially conservative agenda
Past iterations of the group – which was formed as an ultra-conservative alternative to the Republican Study Committee but has since become more of a Trump loyalty club – were more focused on process and transparency concerns, as well as fiscal conservatism. Some of the more veteran members of the group are still emphasizing that as a top priority.
The House Freedom Caucus has had a lot of demands of late: conditions under which they'd support anyone to be Speaker, changes they'd like to see made in the House to decentralize power, ... The as-of-yet unformed bill is almost guaranteed to have levels of spending the fiscally conservative Freedom Caucus will find highly objectionable – they have never supported any bipartisan deal that has come out of the Senate.
the Freedom Caucus – a group of ultra-conservative House Republicans who are fervently pro-Trump.
The House Freedom Caucus, a cadre of conservatives, libertarians and others who have shown no hesitation to buck the party leadership, has been heavily critical of the AHCA
Freedom Caucus members stood by their ideological objections to a bill they say does not go far enough in repealing Obamacare.
The House Freedom Caucus, a bloc of roughly three-dozen conservatives, backed Trump's position Tuesday and said its members would vote against the bill.
So secretive that it will not disclose the names of its members, [...] the roughly three dozen
Gary Palmer (Ala.), a Freedom Caucus member
In a statement issued to Newsweek on Saturday morning, Luna said: "The member that called me was NOT MTG. Marjorie came down and helped me in my primary and is also a fellow member of the Freedom Caucus. She would never do that to me."
HFC Members: ... Michael Cloud
Freedom Caucus member Ben Cline
Riggleman, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, ...
Ted Yoho is a member of the Freedom Caucus.
External links
- Cristina Marcos (January 26, 2015). "House conservatives form 'Freedom Caucus'". The Hill.
- Jeremy Carl (October 13, 2015). "The Freedom Caucus Is a Rebellion That Could Change the GOP's Future". Time.
- Linda Killian (October 10, 2015). "How House Freedom Caucus Has Alienated Members – and Risks Its Agenda". The Wall Street Journal.