What is the House Freedom Caucus?
A band of far-right Republicans wield more power in America’s Congress than ever before
Editor’s note (May 22nd 2023): This article has been updated since publication.
THEY HAVE been likened by fellow Republicans to “lemmings with suicide vests”, “legislative terrorists” and the Taliban. When they formed a voting bloc in 2015 they considered naming themselves the “Reasonable Nut Job Caucus”. Members of the House Freedom Caucus, a troupe of about 50 far-right Republicans in America’s House of Representatives (out of 222 Republicans in the chamber), are unabashed agents of chaos. In this Congress they became kingmakers. Nineteen of the 20 lawmakers who forced 15 rounds of voting for the position of Speaker belong to the group. Only after Kevin McCarthy granted them significant concessions did he win the job. What is the Freedom Caucus—and what power do its members now wield?
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