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Freedom Caucus

Republican US congressional caucus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 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, with the aim of pushing the Republican leadership to the right.[6] Its first chairman, Jim Jordan, described the caucus as a "smaller, more cohesive, more agile and more active" group of conservative representatives.[7] Its current chairman, Andy Harris, is considered by some media to be a far-right politician due to some of his radical proposals.[8][9]

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The caucus is positioned right-wing to far-right on the political spectrum, and it is substantially linked to the values of national conservatism.[10][11][12] The hardline conservative group favors social conservatism and small government, along with right-wing populist beliefs such as opposition to immigration reform.[13][14][15][16][17] The group sought dozens of times to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[18] Established as a more conservative alternative to the Republican Study Committee, the group initially emphasized fiscal conservatism and concerns about House rules, favoring budget cuts and a decentralization of power within the House of Representatives.[19][20]

After the election of Donald Trump, it became what Politico described as "more populist and nationalist, but less bound by policy principles."[19][21][22] The caucus has included some members who are libertarians.[23][24] The caucus supports House candidates through its PAC, the House Freedom Fund.[25][26]

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History

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The caucus originated during the mid–January 2015 Republican congressional retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania.[27] According to founding member Mick Mulvaney, "that was the first time we got together and decided we were a group, and not just a bunch of pissed-off guys".[28] Nine conservative Republican members of the House began planning a new congressional caucus separate from the Republican Study Committee and apart from the House Republican Conference. The founding members who constituted the first board of directors for the new caucus were Republican representatives Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Jim Jordan of Ohio, John Fleming of Louisiana, Matt Salmon of Arizona, Justin Amash of Michigan, Raúl Labrador of Idaho, Mulvaney of South Carolina, Ron DeSantis of Florida and Mark Meadows of North Carolina.[29]

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."[28][30]

During the crisis over the funding of the Department of Homeland Security in early 2015, the caucus offered four plans for resolution, but all were rejected by the Republican leadership. One of the caucus leaders, Raúl Labrador, said the caucus would offer an alternative that the most conservative Republican members could support.[31][needs update]

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.[32]

The House Freedom Caucus was involved in the resignation of Boehner on September 25, 2015, and the ensuing leadership battle for the new speaker.[33] 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.[34][35] 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 in 2015.[32][36][37][38]

After Boehner resigned as speaker, Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, was initially the lead contender to succeed him, but the Freedom Caucus withheld its support.[39] However, McCarthy withdrew from the race on October 8, 2015, after appearing to suggest that the Benghazi investigation's purpose had been to lower the approval ratings of Hillary Clinton.[40][41] On the same day as McCarthy's withdrawal, Reid Ribble resigned from the Freedom Caucus saying he had joined to promote certain policies and could not support the role that it was playing in the leadership race.[42]

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.[43] 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.[44] On October 29, 2015, Ryan succeeded Boehner as the speaker of the House.[45]

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."[46]

Backlash in 2016

The group faced backlash from the Republican Party establishment during the 2016 election cycle.[47] One of its members, Representative Tim Huelskamp, a Tea Party Republican representing Kansas's first district, was defeated during a primary election on August 2, 2016, by Roger Marshall.[48]

2017–2021: First Trump presidency

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."[49] Freedom Caucus vice chair Jim Jordan said that during the Trump administration, the Freedom Caucus shifted focus from passing legislation to defending the President.[50]

Rejection of American Health Care Act in 2017

On March 24, 2017, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the House Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, was withdrawn by Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan because it lacked the votes to pass, due in large part to opposition from Freedom Caucus Republicans who believed that the replacement provisions had the effect of failing to repeal some elements of the original Affordable Care Act.[51][52][53]

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!"[54][55] On the same day, Representative Ted Poe of Texas resigned from the Freedom Caucus.[56] 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).[57] Vocal Freedom Caucus member Justin Amash responded by accusing Trump of "succumb[ing] to the D.C. Establishment."[58]

Trump later developed a closer relationship with the caucus chair, Mark Meadows.[59] In April 2018, Trump described three caucus members – Meadows, Jim Jordan, and Ron DeSantis – as "absolute warriors" for his defense during the course of the Special Counsel investigation.[60]

During first impeachment of Trump

In May 2019, the Freedom Caucus officially condemned one of its founding members, Justin Amash, after he called for the impeachment of President Trump over the Trump–Ukraine scandal.[61] Amash, an outspoken libertarian, announced in June 2019 that he had left the caucus; later the same year, he left the Republican Party and joined the Libertarian Party.[62][63]

During the impeachment inquiry against Trump, and subsequent first impeachment of Trump, the caucus emerged as a chief defender of Trump during the proceedings.[64][65]

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.[66]

Freedom Caucus members have called on Liz Cheney to resign as Chair of the House Republican Conference, because of her vocal criticism of Trump's foreign policy, response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and use of social media,[67] leading to her firing May 12, 2021, and replacement by Elise Stefanik two days later.

2020 National Defense Authorization Act

In December 2020, the caucus sided with Donald Trump and opposed the NDAA on the grounds that it did not include a provision to repeal Section 230.[68]

2021–2023: 117th Congress and embrace of populism

Role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election and opposition to second Trump impeachment

After Trump lost his bid for reelection in November 2020, many members of the Freedom Caucus supported Trump's attempt to overturn the election results. In early December 2020, amid pressure from Trump on congressional Republicans to help him subvert the election outcome, two dozen House Republicans, including many Freedom Caucus members, sent a letter to Trump asking him to order his Attorney General, William P. Barr, to appoint a Justice Department special counsel to investigate supposed election "irregularities", even though Barr had previously acknowledged that there was no evidence justifying such a step.[69] Several Freedom Caucus members met with officials at Trump's White House in December 2020, discussing ways to overturn the election results during the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count.[70] Most Freedom Caucus members objected to the counting of the electoral votes that formalized Trump's defeat.[71]

During the second impeachment of Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection, Freedom Caucus leadership and members demanded that Representative Liz Cheney, one of 10 Republicans who voted in favor of impeachment, resign from her role as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.[72][73][74]

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.[75] The new caucus was later scrapped.[76]

An unofficial faction of Trump loyalists, sometimes referred to as the 'MAGA Squad', included Gosar, Greene, Gaetz, Madison Cawthorn, Louie Gohmert, Mo Brooks, Andy Biggs, Scott Perry, and Lauren Boebert. Described as more radical than the mainstream Freedom Caucus, The group supported primary challenges against incumbent Republicans during the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections.[77][78][79][80]

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 caucus 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.[81] To take a formal position on legislation, the Freedom Caucus requires the support of 80% of the caucus's members.[81]

2023–2024: 118th Congress and House leadership conflict

In the November 2022 elections, Republicans narrowly regained control of the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress.

In December 2022, seven hardline Republicans, including Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry and several other caucus members, sent a letter outlining demands for the next Speaker. Many echoed earlier requests made that summer, such as increasing Freedom Caucus representation on key committees, including the House Rules Committee and chairmanships; allowing any amendment to receive a vote if backed by at least ten percent of the Republican conference; prohibiting House Republican leaders and affiliated PACs from interfering in primaries; reinstating the motion to vacate the chair; and codifying the Hastert Rule, which bars legislation from advancing without support from a majority of House Republicans.[82][83]

2023 House leadership election

Further information: January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election

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.[84] Former caucus chair Andy Biggs launched an unsuccessful challenge to McCarthy,[85] losing 31-188 in a secret ballot vote, with five Republicans writing in other names.[86][87] McCarthy ran with the endorsement of other Freedom Caucus members, such as vice chair Jim Jordan,[88] David Schweikert,[89] and Marjorie Taylor Greene.[90] Caucus member Byron Donalds also ran for House Republican Conference chair, but lost to incumbent Elise Stefanik,[91] while member Andrew Clyde ran for House Republican Conference secretary, but lost to Lisa McClain.[92]

McCarthy needed 218 votes from the House floor to be elected speaker in the January 3, 2023, vote.[93] After McCarthy won the internal Republican nomination, some Freedom Caucus members outspokenly supported him, including Jordan, a former McCarthy rival[94] who was set to be chairperson of the House Judiciary Committee.[82] Marjorie Taylor Greene also backed McCarthy, saying that any alternative to McCarthy would be insufficiently right-wing.[82] Other caucus members resisted supporting McCarthy, with five members saying they would vote against him, although they have not coalesced around a specific alternative candidate.[82][95][94] A third group of caucus members did not publicly support or oppose McCarthy's speakership bid, seeking to extract concessions from him.[82][95] Because the House Republicans only had a narrow majority (222–212), McCarthy could not gain a majority unless nearly all Republicans voted for him.[87][95] McCarthy warned his internal opponents that the next speaker of the House could be chosen with House Democratic votes if the Republican caucus failed to unite around him.[86] In January 2023, 19 Freedom Caucus members voted against McCarthy during the House floor vote for Speaker,[96] eventually allowing McCarthy to become Speaker only after securing extensive concessions on changing the House rules.[97]

2023 conflict with Marjorie Taylor Greene

On June 21, 2023, Greene engaged in a verbal argument with fellow caucus member Lauren Boebert on the House floor, in which she called the latter a "little bitch."[98] As a result of this incident, the caucus voted by secret ballot to expel Greene.[99]

2023 debt-ceiling crisis and aftermath

See also: 2023 United States 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.[100] By suspending the debt ceiling until January 2025, the government avoided a default. The spending bill focused on issues such as military construction and veterans affairs.[101][102]

On May 31, during a procedural rule vote for the bill to end the debt ceiling crisis, 29 Freedom Caucus aligned Republicans voted against the rule. Rules are historically supported by all members of the majority party and opposed by minority members regardless of their feelings on the underlying bill. In order to ensure the bill's passage, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held up a green card to alert Democrats they could vote in favor of the measure, resulting in 52 Democrats showing their support for the procedural vote.[103][104] A majority of both the Republican and Democratic parties voted for the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, but more Republicans (71) voted against the bill than Democrats (46).[105]

Following the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 11 members of the Freedom Caucus voted with Democrats to block a procedural rules vote on a Republican bill that would hinder the federal government's ability to regulate gas stoves. Freedom Caucus members said the vote was a protest of McCarthy's handling of the debt-ceiling crisis.[106] On June 12, 2023, the Freedom Caucus and McCarthy reached an agreement that resulted in the Freedom Caucus not blocking procedural votes in exchange for conservative legislation being brought to the floor.[107]

Removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker

Main article: Removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House

Despite the earlier agreement, in September 2023, Freedom Caucus members once again began joining with Democrats to block procedural rule votes. On September 19 and September 21, five members of the Freedom Caucus, voted with Democrats to block a vote on a military funding bill. The Freedom Caucus was angry about a proposed continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown that they argued did not do enough to cut spending.[108][109] On September 29, twenty-one Freedom Caucus members joined with Democrats to block a continuing resolution which included spending cuts and immigration restrictions. Freedom Caucus members who voted against the resolution said they would not support a temporary spending bill under any circumstance.[110]

Because of this conflict, the federal government appeared poised to shut down.[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] Eventually, the Republican conference unanimously elected Mike Johnson Speaker of the House.[119]

Conflict with Speaker Johnson

In order to again avert a government shutdown, Mike Johnson was forced to use a suspension of the rules to pass a continuing resolution on November 14, 2023. 93 Republicans and 2 Democrats voted against the resolution.[120] The continuing resolution once again angered Freedom Caucus members. On November 15, 19 Freedom Caucus members joined with Democrats to block a rule vote on a bill funding the Justice Department.[121]

On January 7, 2024, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Johnson agreed to a $1.59 trillion topline spending deal. The topline spending levels agreed for 2024 that was not substantially different from the deal McCarthy and President Biden had negotiated.[122] The agreement was met by outrage by the House Freedom Caucus, essentially ensuring Democrats would be required to join Republicans to pass a finalized spending bill in the House.[123] On January 10, twelve Freedom Caucus members joined Democrats to block a rule vote on an unrelated bill about electric cars in protest of the spending deal.[124]

With the House Freedom Caucus' determination to also oppose rules on any bill they did not support, Speaker Johnson was forced to rely on suspension of rules: this special procedure allowed the immediate passage of a legislative proposal without the need for a rule vote, but required the support of two-thirds of the House. Democrats opted to vote in favor of suspension of the rules for budget legislation.[125]

On April 20, over two months after the Senate had passed a funding bill for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine,[126] Jeffries negotiated the legislative path for the bill and delivered a majority of Democratic votes to pass a legislative package providing aid to the three countries in separate bills, each of which passed Congress with bipartisan support and large majorities and was signed into law by President Biden.[127] The bill was voted against in committee by three Freedom Caucus members – enough to prevent it progressing under normal circumstances – but all Democrats voted for it.[128]

As the House continued to pass a series of key legislative victories that were supported by a majority of Democrats, Freedom Caucus-aligned Republicans continued to threaten to trigger another motion to vacate the chair, this time with Speaker Johnson targeted. However, Jeffries hinted at providing a lifeline to Speaker Mike Johnson in an interview with The New York Times.[129]

The House voted to table (kill) the motion by a vote of 359-43, allowing Johnson to remain speaker.[130] 196 Republicans and 163 Democrats voted to table the motion; 11 Republicans and 32 Democrats voted against tabling the motion. The Democrats who supported Johnson claimed they did so because of the vital role he had played in providing funding for the federal government and for Ukraine.[131]

2024 elections

The chair of the Freedom Caucus, Bob Good, faced backlash for voting to remove Kevin McCarthy and endorsing Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. The leadership positions held by Good and Chip Roy in the Caucus led to a rift between the Freedom Caucus and Trump.[132] Good was ultimately defeated in a 2024 primary challenge from state senator John McGuire, who was endorsed by Donald Trump. Warren Davidson's support for McGuire led to his expulsion from the caucus, with Troy Nehls subsequently resigning from the caucus in support of Davidson.[133] McGuire won by a margin of 0.6%, with Good seeking a recount.[134] Good said he would resign as chair if he lost the recount, which he subsequently did lose.[135][136] Good stepped down as chair in September, when the House was back in session.[137]

Andy Harris was chosen as the new chair of the Freedom Caucus for the rest of 2024.[138] The Freedom Caucus supported the nomination of JD Vance as Trump's vice presidential candidate in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.[139]

2025–present: 119th Congress and Second Trump Presidency

119th Congress House Republican leadership elections (2025)

Republicans voted to nominate their speaker of the House candidate on Wednesday, November 13.[140] Before the vote, members of the Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, along with speaker Mike Johnson, reached an agreement: the proposed rule changes on Conference assignments would be withdrawn; in exchange, the holdouts pledged to support a reform of the motion to vacate, which would raise the threshold to introduce it from one member to nine members. After the deal was struck, Johnson was nominated by voice vote without opposition.[141]

Following Speaker Johnson's December 17 announcement of a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown, which included funding opposed by many conservative Republicans, Republican representative Thomas Massie said he would vote against Johnson in the upcoming speakership election. Politico and Punchbowl News reported that privately several other Republicans were "uncommitted" to supporting Johnson.[142][143] Later, Republican senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee, as well as Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, publicly announced that they are open to supporting Elon Musk to be the next Speaker of the House.[144][145] On December 20, Freedom Caucus chair Andy Harris said he was "undecided."[146] On December 30, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump endorsed Johnson through a post on Truth Social.[147][148] Despite the endorsement, multiple Republican representatives have publicly said they are uncommitted to voting for Johnson; including Victoria Spartz,[a] Andy Biggs, Tim Burchett, and Chip Roy.[150][151][152] Roy also said that "Johnson does not yet have the support to be speaker."[153][154]

Initially, during the Speaker vote, Republican Representatives Thomas Massie voted for Tom Emmer, Ralph Norman voted for Jim Jordan, and Keith Self voted for Byron Donalds, while Republicans Andy Biggs, Michael Cloud, Andrew Clyde, Paul Gosar, Andy Harris, and Chip Roy (all of whom were undecided going into the vote) did not respond to the initial roll call vote. The clerk then called a second time the names of those who had not replied to the first call, and all six voted for Johnson.[155] Johnson's vote count therefore stood at 216, two short of the required majority. However, after meeting with Johnson off the floor and receiving a phone call by Trump, Norman and Self shifted to supporting Johnson before the final vote was declared.[156][157]

Resignation of Anna Paulina Luna

In March 2025, Freedom Caucus member Anna Paulina Luna worked with Democrats and some Republicans to force a vote on a bill through a discharge petition which would allow new parents to vote by proxy. The petition angered members of the Freedom Caucus, who believe that proxy voting is unconstitutional, and led them to initially vote against a procedural rules vote on Republican supported energy bills. After negotiations with House Republican leadership, the Freedom Caucus would later allow the vote to pass. Freedom Caucus leadership urged Republican leadership to raise the threshold required to force a vote on a bill through a discharge petition.[158] Paulina Luna would later resign from the Freedom Caucus. In a letter, she said her decision to resign was due to the loss of "mutual respect that has guided our caucus."[159] On April 1, Republican leadership attempted to pass a rule vote that would prevent Luna's bill from being voted on. Nine Republicans (Luna, Tim Burchett, Mike Lawler, Kevin Kiley, Nick LaLota, Jeff Van Drew, Max Miller, Greg Steube and Ryan Mackenzie) joined all Democrats to block the rule vote.[160] Afterwards, Freedom Caucus hard-liners said they would vote against any rule that did not include language preventing the proxy voting bill from coming to a vote. In response, Speaker Johnson suspended voting for the remainder of that week.[161] On April 6, Paulina Luna and Johnson reached an agreement that would allow absent members to use vote pairing. Their intended vote will still be published in the Congressional Record.[162]

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Political positions

The caucus is positioned right-wing[10] to far-right[11] 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."[46]

After the 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump, the Freedom Caucus shifted its emphasis to loyalty to Trump,[19][22] and became what Politico described as "more populist and nationalist, but less bound by policy principles."[21] The caucus has included some members who are libertarians.[23][24]

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Affiliated political and advocacy organizations

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Perspective

The House Freedom Caucus is affiliated with several political and advocacy organizations that support its mission and members. The House Freedom Fund is the official political action committee of the caucus, providing financial backing to conservative candidates aligned with its priorities.[163] It plays a key role in primary campaigns, often supporting challengers to Republican incumbents who are seen as insufficiently aligned with the caucus’s principles.[164][165] The Fund is closely tied to the caucus and has received support from major Republican donors to influence the outcome of competitive primaries.[166]

House Freedom Action, a Super PAC affiliated with the caucus, operates independently to run issue ads and support candidates in federal elections.[167] It has been active in high-profile races, including those involving Freedom Caucus leaders.[168][169]

In addition, the Freedom Caucus Foundation serves as a nonprofit advocacy arm that promotes the caucus’s policy goals through public outreach and media campaigns.[170] The foundation has aired television ads highlighting the legislative activities of the Caucus, including its role in shaping the 2025 budget negotiations.[171][172]

The similarly named State Freedom Caucus Network, an offshoot of the Conservative Partnership institute, is not officially affiliated with the House Freedom Caucus.[173][174][175]

Leadership

The current chair of the caucus is Representative Andy Harris from Maryland, with Representative Jim Jordan as the deputy chair. In January 2022, Representative Lauren Boebert was elected as communications chair, and Representative Chip Roy as policy chair.[176]

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Membership

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Thumb
The map shows districts represented by Freedom Caucus members as of April 2025.

Membership policy

The House Freedom Caucus does not disclose the names of its members and membership is by invitation only.[181][182] 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."[183] 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.

More information Election year, Republican seats ...

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 31 caucus members as of March 2025; those members include:

Alabama

Arizona

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Louisiana

Maryland

Missouri

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Former members

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Left caucus

Removed from caucus

Lost renomination or re-election

Retired or died

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See also

Further reading

  1. Despite being a member of the Republican Party, Spartz is not part of the House Republican Conference.[149]

References

External links

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