Freedom Caucus
The House Freedom Caucus, shortened as the Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative and libertarian Republican members of the United States House of Representatives, formed in 2015 and, as of March 2021, chaired by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
Initially founded by 9 wackos GOP Congressmen, it now stands at a total of 50 confirmed members (March 2021).
 |
This article requires updating. Please help by revising it.
|
| A guide to U.S. Politics |
 |
| Hail to the Chief? |
| Persons of interest |
|
v - t - e |
“”It can’t be all this way or a no, |
| —Rep. Mark Meadows,[1][dead link] former chairperson of this stupid caucus |
The caucus is (apparently) sympathetic to the Tea Party movement and is considered the craziest farthest-right grouping within the House Republican Conference.
Background
During an early 2015 Republican congressional retreat, nine conservative active Republican members of the House began planning a new Congressional caucus. As opposed to the opening quote at the top of this page, its fundamental reason for creation seemed to be to provide a way for members to basically vote no to anything and everything that the GOP House leadership could come up. They have gradually expanded their membership over the years, and whilst not disclosing House members who align with them, anyone with half a brain can easily figure out who they are, given their public rants statements to both the press and/or from the floor of the US Congress itself.
Current roster
Despite not disclosing the names of its members, the current (2021) all-star cast of characters Republican Representatives seems to be, as of March 2021[2] at least:
- Andy Biggs (Arizona) - Chair
- Jim Banks (Indiana)
- Dan Bishop (North Carolina)
- Mo Brooks (Alabama)
- Lauren Boebert (Colorado)
- Ken Buck (Colorado)
- Ted Budd (North Carolina)
- Michael Burgess (Texas)
- Madison Cawthorn (North Carolina)
- Ben Cline (Virginia)
- Michael Cloud (Texas)
- Warren Davidson (Ohio)
- Scott DesJarlais (Tennessee)
- Byron Donalds (Florida)
- Jeff Duncan (South Carolina)
- Russ Fulcher (Idaho)
- Matt Gaetz (Florida)
- Louie Gohmert (Texas)
- Bob Good (Virginia)
- Paul Gosar (Arizona)
- Mark E. Green (Tennessee)
- Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia)
- Morgan Griffith (Virginia)
- Andy Harris (Maryland)
- Diana Harshbagger (Tennessee)
- Yvette Herrell (New Mexico)
- Jody Hice (Georgia)
- Darrell Isa (California)
- Ronnie Jackson (Texas)
- Mike Johnson (Louisiana)
- Jim Jordan (Ohio)
- Fred Keller (Pennsylvania)
- Debbie Lesko (Arizona)
- Mary Miller (Illinois)
- Alex Mooney (West Virginia)
- Barry Moore (Alabama)
- Ralph Norman (South Carolina)
- Greg Murphy (North Carolina)
- Devin Nunes (California)
- Burgess Owens (Utah)
- Gary Palmer (Alabama)
- Scott Perry (Pennsylvania)
- Bill Posey (Florida)
- Matt Rosendale (Montana)
- Chip Roy (Texas)
- David Schweikert (Arizona)
- Greg Steube (Florida)
- Tom Tiffany (Wisconsin)
- Randy Weber (Texas)
- Lee Zeldin (New York)
Former members
- Mark Meadows (North Carolina) - Former chair
- Denver Riggleman (Virgina)
- Ted Yoho (Florida)
Positions and legislative goals
Hard to determine here, to be honest. Apparently they share some of the same goals as the House members aligned with The Tea Party (see: saying yes to anything that bans or restricts abortion, let's say) yet they are supposed to be somehow different (see: saying no to anything former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Paul Ryan says). They came to prominence and public light most notably during the GOP's latest blunders efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, something that the GOP has only been promising and voting on for oh, the last ten years or so.
Formed around the time of Michele Bachmann's departure from the United States House of Representatives, it's hard to get a sense of their true ideology. Had Bachmann been able to join the group, one could have easily surmised that they were certifiably crazy. Without her, one might be able to draw a conclusion that they are just a bit more insane than the rest of the Congressional GOP membership. However, with the additions of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert to the caucus, it's pretty safe to say they're crazy.
Legacy
Again, hard to ultimately determine here as well, given that they are admittedly a "work in progress". But they have managed to do two major things:
- They seem to be able to single-handedly take credit for the fact that The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often shortened to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (or nicknamed Obamacare) is still the law of the land (at least as of this entry time stamp).
- They were able to make a complete nutjob like John Boehner seem plausibly rational by replacing him with Paul Ryan (whom they now just basically say no to as well). This unto itself is an impressive achievement.