The House Freedom Caucus doesnt have a Web site. Its not completely clear exactly who belongs to the group. But in the just-completed fight over Homeland Security funding, it was hard to miss the influence of the insurgent conservative bloc as it clashed with GOP leadership. <\/p>\n
The small group of far-right renegades has emerged as the latest embodiment of the internal GOP resistance to House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio); as a general rule, they are unpredictable, opaque and completely unwilling to back down from any fight against President Obama and his agenda. <\/p>\n
As the unified Republican majority looks to the next big legislative battles over the debt ceiling, the federal budget and the Export-Import Bank, the Freedom Caucus may be the best illustration of how intra-party discord could dramatically slow the pace of business in this Congress and likely bring it to a complete halt. <\/p>\n
In late January, nine House Republicans issued a joint news release announcing the formation of the Freedom Caucus. Among the group, three voted against Boehner for speaker in early January. <\/p>\n
The chairman of the group is Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), a square-jawed former college wrestling champion who voted for Boehner but also received two votes of his own for the speakers job. In a Wednesday interview, Jordan said the caucus has no interest in a new campaign to topple Boehner. He sounded populist notes in explaining the groups overarching goal. <\/p>\n
Were here to stand up for those folks who we think get left out all too often, he said. Everyday folks. Working Americans. <\/p>\n
Jordan said the group meets at least weekly, typically on the first night when lawmakers get back into town after the weekend. Asked how many members the group has, he estimated there were about 30 but declined to name all of them. <\/p>\n
They can all speak for themselves, Jordan said. We just said we werent going to make the list public. <\/p>\n
What was clearly on display during the DHS funding standoff was a conservative yearning to do battle with Obama over the presidents executive actions on immigration, particularly his decision to defer the deportations of millions of undocumented immigrants. <\/p>\n
Boehner has tried to take up that fight alongside his conservative colleagues, passing a bill that would fund DHS and remove money for Obamas directives. But when it was clear that bill had hit an unbreachable roadblock in the Senate, Boehner retreated. With his back against the wall and facing a DHS shutdown, he tried to pass a three-week funding extension in the hopes of continuing to fight for the House bill. <\/p>\n
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Insurgent bloc of House conservatives proving to be a thorn in Boehners side<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The House Freedom Caucus doesnt have a Web site. Its not completely clear exactly who belongs to the group. But in the just-completed fight over Homeland Security funding, it was hard to miss the influence of the insurgent conservative bloc as it clashed with GOP leadership Continue reading