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Republican freedom definition1/13/2024 ![]() ![]() Boehner’s successor as speaker, Paul Ryan, had his own share of frustrations with the Freedom Caucus before calling it quits. The group regularly tormented former Speaker John Boehner, ultimately giving him the biggest shove into retirement - a feat the current chair considers one of its defining accomplishments. But they were also expected to back leadership on stopgap spending bills to prevent government shutdowns. The Freedom Caucus launched in 2015 with a vow to promote “open, accountable and limited government, the Constitution and the rule of law, and policies that promote the liberty, safety and prosperity of all Americans.” Members had to be willing to oppose a House rule, the most blatant form of opposing party leaders when they felt conservative principles were being ignored. Some of the people closest to the group’s complicated origin story warn that if it doesn’t return to its roots, moving away from firebrands who are more likely to cause a stir than sponsor a bill, its influence risks waning just as the GOP reclaims the majority. ![]() Interviews with more than 40 Republicans - including 30 lawmakers, 16 of them in the Freedom Caucus - paint a picture of a group that shapeshifted as the GOP itself realigned during Trump’s presidency, becoming more populist and nationalist, but less bound by policy principles. “I like the principles that the Freedom Caucus was founded on, but I think that if we can’t work together as a group and push our ideas in a civil manner, then we’re not going to be very effective.” Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), a current but less active group member, said in an interview. “We need to reevaluate where we’re heading,” Rep. A group founded with right-leaning policy ambition that later became a Donald Trump defense team is starting to split in important ways, from how to respond to this week’s Kevin McCarthy tapes to - more fundamentally - whether to reorient itself back to its limited-government roots. The run-in between Greene and Boebert is a microcosm of a bigger identity crisis that’s starting to take hold within the Freedom Caucus. ![]()
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