Tag: House Freedom Caucus

Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger Explains House Republicans’ Strategy Behind Passing Short-Term Spending Bill to Fund the Government Until Dec. 20

Kaitlin Housler
Rep Diana Harshbarger

Tennessee U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) said she still has faith in U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) after House Republicans failed to band together and pass a continuing resolution tied to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and instead opted for a continuing resolution without the SAVE Act.

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Conservative House Freedom Caucus Members Secured over $900 Million in Earmarks: Watchdog

Just the News
weber Johnson

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus sponsored more than $900 million worth of earmarks over the last two years, according to a study conducted by OpenTheBooks.com and published on Thursday.

While the Freedom Caucus does not publicly list all of its members, OpenTheBooks said they based their study off of a list of 49 lawmakers that Pew compiled, which includes lawmakers who publicly identified as members of the caucus or are “closely aligned” with it.

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Virginia U.S. Rep. Bob Good Promises House Freedom Caucus Will Fight Speaker’s NDAA

Tom Pappert

Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) said the House Freedom Caucus will work to oppose the new National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) supported by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) crafted with leadership in Congress, which will reauthorize a controversial government surveillance law that House Republicans previously pulled due to backlash.

Good told John Fredericks, publisher of The Virginia Star, that he plans to rally Republicans against the proposed NDAA due to its inclusion of an extension for controversial government spying under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The current version of the bill, he explained, was created by Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

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House Freedom Caucus Comes Out Against Johnson’s Continuing Resolution

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The House Freedom Caucus (HFC) came out against Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s continuing resolution (CR) to temporarily fund the government ahead of the vote on Tuesday, according to a press release.

Johnson’s two-part plan, the “Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act of 2024,” would avert a Nov. 17 government shutdown by issuing both a Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 funding deadline when certain spending legislation would expire, according to the bill’s text. The HFC is opposing the “clean” CR because it doesn’t provide any spending cuts or other conservative provisions, the press release reads.

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‘No Speaker, No Recess:’ House Freedom Caucus Urges Republicans to Stay in Town Until New Speaker Is Elected

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The House Freedom Caucus (HFC) is urging Republican leadership to keep its members in Washington, D.C., until a new speaker is elected, according to a Monday press release obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The House has been without a speaker since Kevin McCarthy was ousted on October 3, and has since failed to elect two GOP nominees — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan. With nine House Republicans in the running for the position, the HFC is asking for no more recess until someone secures the gavel “with all possible speed and determination,” according to the press release.

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House Republicans Balk at Temporary Spending Bill

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Numerous House Republicans have voiced opposition to the continuing resolution (CR) brokered by the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) and the Main Street Caucus on Sunday evening to avoid a government shutdown.

Members of the conservative HFC and moderate Main Street Caucus agreed to fund the government for another month, and the bill also includes the Secure The Border Act minus e-verify, a near 8 percent cut of non-defense discretionary spending and other provisions. Several conservative members, including Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, took to Twitter following the announcement to say they won’t support the CR.

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Commentary: House Freedom Caucus Wants To Do Something About Out of Control Spending

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On Monday, the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) struck a blow in the fight for fiscal displume. In a 431-word statement, the conservative House Republicans put Official Washington on notice that when Congress returned in September and took up the seemingly annual short-term spending bill known as a “Continuing Resolution,” the HFC would not vote to fund business as usual. Instead, HFC members would only support a short-term spending bill to keep the government open if it also included several of their key policy priorities – policy priorities that would represent significant shifts in key areas of government policy.

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The House GOP Effort to Defund ‘Wokeness’

RealClearWire

Through executive orders and budget requests, the Biden administration has sought to embed “diversity, equity, and inclusion” principles across the entirety of the federal government – and in turn to touch the lives of every American. Now members of the Republican House majority, who see this whole-of-government effort as a woke assault on America and its core values, are working to combat it using the power of the purse.

In a series of letters to House appropriations leaders, Rep. Jim Banks and like-minded colleagues have identified and called for the defunding of all “‘woke’ programs and initiatives that are rooted in discrimination and promote far-left ideology in the federal government” in 2024 spending bills.

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House Freedom Caucus Names Its Price for a Debt Limit Increase

Just the News

The House Freedom Caucus on Friday outlined the terms by which it might agree to vote for an increase to the debt limit amid a budgetary standoff between House Republicans and President Joe Biden with a looming deadline to avert an unprecedented default.

Announcing their plans in a press conference, the conservative bloc indicated they would support an increase in the debt limit after Congress enacted legislation both to cut current spending and cap future expenditures.

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House Speaker Fight Foreshadows Larger Debt Ceiling Battle on the Horizon for Republicans

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The gridlock that paralyzed House Republicans over the past week in their quest to elect a new Speaker could be a foretaste of more to come, with party moderates and conservatives set to tangle in the months to come over raising the debt ceiling and reining in reckless government spending.

Although newly elected Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy ultimately prevailed in his bid for the office over a small but determined band of House Freedom Caucus members, his slim GOP majority in the House will be vulnerable if and when conservatives rebel again down the road, as some are predicting, in an effort to reassert debt reduction as a top priority for the party.

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Georgia U.S. Rep. Clyde Explains Vote for McCarthy as Speaker

Eric Burk

U.S. Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) was one of fifteen hold-out Republicans to flip on Friday and vote in favor of Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) to be Speaker of the House, paving the way for McCarthy’s late Friday win after a week of falling short by about 20 votes.

“My fight has never been about personalities — it has always been about restoring the People’s voice in the People’s House,” Clyde explained in a Friday social media statement. “I voted for Kevin McCarthy based on an agreement to a framework that creates significant historic institutional change. I look forward to helping implement these changes, which will hold the Speaker accountable to the People.”

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Top Conservative Groups, Lawmakers Call for Delay of GOP Leadership Elections

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A group of leading conservative research and political activist organizations have called on the House and Senate Republican Conferences to delay leadership elections, challenging the leaderships of Rep. McCarthy and Sen. Mitch McConnell.

The two-paragraph letter has called for the elections to be delayed until after Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff election, between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, on December 6. Former Rep. David McIntosh of Indiana, who heads the Club for Growth and was a signatory to the letter, has said that the elections must be delayed “until we know the outcome of all the elections—specifically the Georgia runoff and the remaining 23 House races,” per a statement on the group’s website.

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Reps. Wittman, Luria Support House Passage of FY23 NDAA, Most Virginia Republicans Voted ‘Nay’

Eric Burk

The House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with added funding after Virginia Representatives Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) and Elaine Luria (D-VA-02) blasted the administration’s original military spending proposals for not including a large enough budget and for planning to decommission some ships. Wittman was the only Virginia Republican voting in favor of the bill after the House Freedom Caucus criticized it the day before the vote.

After passage of the NDAA on Thursday, Wittman praised it in a press release: “In today’s increasingly divided political world, today’s passage of the NDAA is encouraging proof that Congress can still work together for the greater good of our nation. This year’s NDAA does right by our servicemembers and their families, reverses Biden’s reckless defense cuts, counteracts Biden’s harmful inflation, provides the resources we need to deter Chinese aggression, and protects our homeland.”

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U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw Endorses Morgan Ortagus for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District Seat

Aaron Gulbransen

U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-2)  has made an endorsement in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat.

Rep. Crenshaw has endorsed former Trump administration State Department Spokesman Morgan Ortagus. Crenshaw’s endorsement came when he retweeted Ortagus’ announcement video, saying “Proud to stand with you Morgan. See you in Congress.”

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State Freedom Caucus Network Launches with Seven Named Members of the Georgia General Assembly

Laura Baigert

ATLANTA, Georgia – The newly formed State Freedom Caucus Network launched at the Georgia State Capitol, as the first state to join with seven named members of the Georgia General Assembly making the public announcement via a press conference Tuesday.

Led by Representative Philip Singleton (R-Sharpsburg), Georgia legislators named as Freedom Caucus members (pictured above in the front row) included fellow Representatives Timothy Barr (R-Lawrenceville), Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock), Emory Donahoo (R-Gillsville), and Sheri Gilligan (R-Cumming) as well as Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) (pictured above at the podium), who Singleton said is a founding member and first chairman of the Georgia Freedom Caucus as well as Burt Jones (R-Jackson), candidate for Lt. Governor.

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Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to be the Featured Speaker at Wilson County GOP Trump Day Dinner

Laura Baigert

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene will be the featured speaker of the Wilson County Republican Party Trump Day Dinner to be held Thursday, October 7 at the Farm Bureau Expo Center on East Baddour Parkway in Lebanon.

The provocative freshman and member of the House Freedom Caucus, Greene, serves Georgia’s 14th District in the U.S. House which sits to the northwest of Atlanta and just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee and includes the cities of Dalton and Rome.

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House Freedom Caucus Demands McCarthy Launch Fight to Oust Pelosi by July 31

Neil W. McCabe

Members of the House Freedom Caucus threw down the gauntlet, ostensibly challenging Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) with the motion to vacate the chair or oust the California Democrat from her perch, but the real challenge was to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23).

“We, the House Freedom Caucus, respectfully request that you pursue the authorization of the House Republican Conference according to Conference Rules to file and bring up a privileged motion by July 31, 2021, to vacate the chair and end Nancy Pelosi’s authoritarian reign as Speaker of the House,” read the July 23 letter signed collectively by The House Freedom Caucus.

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Mark Meadows Vows: ‘The House Freedom Caucus Is Choosing the Next Speaker’

Neil W. McCabe

President Donald J. Trump’s last White House chief of staff told supporters at the April 24 House Freedom Fund reception and dinner at the president’s Palm Beach, Florida resort club Mar-A-Lago why they did not have to worry about House Minority Leader Kevin O. McCarthy (R-CA-23) taking the gavel in the next session of Congress.

“The House Freedom Caucus is choosing the next speaker,” said former North Carolina congressman Mark R. Meadows, as he returned to his seat after his remarks at the fundraiser for the House Freedom Fund’s political action committee–according to a political operative, who attended the event and heard the remark themselves.

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SWING AND A MISS: No GOP Capitol Hill Staffers Join 400 Democratic Staffers Demanding Senate Convict Trump

Neil W. McCabe

  Not one Republican staffers joined the nearly 400 Democratic Capitol Hill staffers posted an open letter to the Senate today urging the upper chamber to convict President Donald J. Trump in his Senate trial scheduled to begin Feb. 9. “We are staff who work for members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, where it is our honor and privilege to serve our country and our fellow Americans,” the letter began. “We write this letter to share our own views and experiences, not the views of our employers. But on January 6, 2021, our workplace was attacked by a violent mob trying to stop the electoral college vote count.” Nicholas Fandos wrote in The New York Times that the letter had been circulating on Capitol Hill for a few days and that the paper had been privy to the letter before its release. While he hyped the “starkly personal letter,” Fandos buried the lede: Not one of the staffers working for a Republican congressman or senator signed the letter. This includes staffers for the 10 Republican congressmen, led by Wyoming’s Rep. Elizabeth L. “Liz” Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump. Cheney is the daughter of Vice…

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Exclusive: Wyoming State Senator Explains His GOP Primary Challenge to Rep. Liz Cheney

Neil W. McCabe

  A Wyoming Republican state senator told the Star News Network why he is challenging his state’s only Member of Congress and the most senior House Republican, Rep. Elizabeth L. “Liz” Cheney in the 2022 GOP primary. “Liz Cheney’s long-time opposition to President Trump and her most recent vote for Impeachment shows just how out-of-touch she is with Wyoming,” said state Sen. Anthony Bouchard in his Jan. 20 announcement of his candidacy. “Wyoming taxpayers need a voice in Congress who will stand up to Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats, and not give them cover.” Bouchard’s 6th State Senate District is just east of Cheyenne, the state capital. The owner of a septic tank and system cleaning service, first won his seat in 2016, after his first two tries in 2012, 2014. The businessman, who founded Wyoming Gun Owners in 2010, said he has never met nor supported Cheney. “Before she entered into Wyoming politics, Liz Cheney founded and led a group called ‘Keep America Safe,’ an organization that peddled deep state misinformation,” he said. “I never supported her, nor did I vote for her.” The House hopeful said when elected, he would utilize the skills he learned as a gun…

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Two Georgia Representatives to Challenge Electoral College Votes

Corinne Murdock

Two of Georgia’s representatives plan to challenge the Electoral College votes during the January 6th session of Congress. Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) and Representative-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) will join a congressional coalition in objecting the electoral college votes.

Hice met with the President Donald Trump to strategize their objection to the Electors earlier this week. Others in the meeting included Trump’s legal team, Vice President Mike Pence, members of the House Freedom Caucus, Greene, and several other congressional members.

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House Freedom Caucus Condemns Rep Justin Amash After Impeachment Stance

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by Evie Fordham   The conservative House Freedom Caucus condemned member Republican Michigan Rep. Justin Amash Monday after his Saturday comments that President Donald Trump “engaged in impeachable conduct.” Every caucus member at the meeting Monday opposed Amash’s impeachment stance, Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan said, according to Politico. Amash was not at the meeting and has shown up for virtually no meetings the entire year, sources told Politico. “It was every single person who totally disagrees with what he says,” Jordan said after the meeting, according to Politico. Jordan also said he had talked to Amash Saturday night to ask, “What are you doing?” But Amash is still set to keep his membership in the Freedom Caucus even though he threatened to leave in 2018 after Trump went on the warpath against former Republican South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford, reported Politico. Sanford is an ex-member of the caucus. The Freedom Caucus vote could be just the beginning of Amash’s troubles. Republican state Rep. Jim Lower will challenge Amash for the seat in Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, Lower told the Detroit Free Press Monday. Amash broke with his party to criticize Trump’s conduct and accuse Attorney General William Barr of…

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Raising Budget Caps Is ‘Last Thing We Need’ with $22 Trillion Debt, Lawmaker Says

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by Rachel del Guidice   Republicans in the conservative House Freedom Caucus are opposing Democrats’ attempts to increase discretionary spending despite a national debt of more than $22 trillion. “Our country is $22 trillion in debt,” the group said in a statement released Friday. “The spending caps are one of the few tools left to slow down the runaway growth of the federal budget. We will oppose another deal to blow through these limits.” The Budget Control Act, passed in 2011, sought to curb government spending and control the growth of federal programs, capping discretionary spending at $1.07 trillion for fiscal year 2018, which began Oct. 1, 2017. According to a recent opinion column by Justin Bogie, a senior policy analyst in fiscal affairs at The Heritage Foundation, Democrats are looking to raise the Budget Control Act’s discretionary spending caps by at least $357 billion for 2020-2021. Of the new funding, $178 billion would go toward national defense, while the other $179 billion would be reserved for domestic programs. Government funding runs out at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30, and The Hill reported that lawmakers implied there could be another government shutdown if Democrats and…

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Scott DesJarlais Introduces Bill to Fund Defense, Reduce Non-Essential Federal Spending

Chris Butler

Various national security departments would stay open during a government shutdown under new legislation that U.S. Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District submitted this week. The Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs are among the agencies that would continue to receive funding. This, according to a press release DesJarlais’ office released this week. But, as Desjarlais’ spokesman Brendan Thomas told The Tennessee Star in an emailed statement, Congress must pass the bill first. “As things currently stand, a government shutdown would disrupt funding for DHS, responsible for elements of national security. Under Rep. DesJarlais’ bill that would never happen,” Thomas said. “Instead of zero, DHS would receive 100 percent of its current funding. It could continue normal operations. But some agencies would receive only 95 percent of funding.” The press release quoted DesJarlais as saying he supports “building additional physical barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border to deter illegal immigration, drugs and gang crime.” His legislation would pressure negotiators to fulfill promises both parties have made for decades, according to the press release. “Bad deals to end shutdowns have typically resulted in even higher levels of wasteful spending, while the border problem has become worse and worse. In Washington,…

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Rep. Mark Meadows Says Trump Will Not Budge on Requested Amount for Wall Funding

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by Henry Rodgers   Republican North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows said President Donald Trump will not budge on the $5 billion requested for a border wall Wednesday, as the government enters its sixth day of a partial shutdown. Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said he does not believe Trump will agree to the Democrats’ counteroffer of $1.3 billion that could be used for the border wall, saying he does not think the amount is “reasonable.” The government will remain shut down until a compromise can be worked out among the two parties. “I can tell you, if they believe this President is going to yield on this particular issue, they’re misreading him, misreading the American people,” Meadows told CNN on “Inside Politics.” “I see no evidence that would suggest he would come even close to 1.3” billion dollars in border wall funding. This comes as Meadows pushed strongly against a short-term funding bill that would have funded the government until Feb. 8, saying the wall is necessary and that “the time to act is now.” “The time to stand up for the American people and fight for wall funding is now. If the president vetoes a [continuing resolution (CR)] without wall funding,…

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House Freedom Caucus Opposes Short-Term Spending Bill Over Border Wall

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by Henry Rodgers   North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows and House Freedom Caucus members will vote “no” on a short-term funding bill that would fund the government until Feb. 8, as funding is set to expire Friday, The Daily Caller News Foundation has learned. “The time to stand up for the American people and fight for wall funding is now. If the president vetoes a [continuing resolution (CR)] without wall funding, the American people and his allies in Congress will back him up. We’ll support him. The time to act is now. That’s why we were elected and it’s time we follow through,” Meadows, chairman of the congressional caucus, told the TheDCNF Thursday. Meadows called out House Speaker Paul Ryan on the House floor Wednesday and said he would not be giving up on the border wall or the American people. “The president many months ago said he wouldn’t sign another funding bill unless we gave him wall funding. So what did this House do? It passed a bill to fund the Department of Defense and passed a short-term CR and said, ‘You know what? We’re going to have that fight, but we’re going to have that fight after the…

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Trump Ally McCarthy to Lead House Republicans

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Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy easily won an internal party election Wednesday to take over the shrunken House GOP caucus, handing the seven-term Californian a familiar role of building the party back to a majority as well as protecting President Donald Trump’s agenda. With current speaker Paul Ryan retiring and the House majority gone, the race for minority leader was McCarthy’s to lose. But rarely has a leader of a party that suffered a major defeat — Democrats wiped out Republicans in GOP-held suburban districts from New York to McCarthy’s own backyard — been so handily rewarded. After pushing past a longshot challenge from Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, McCarthy will be tested by Republicans on and off Capitol Hill who remain angry and divided after their midterm losses and split over how best to move forward. “We’ll be back,” McCarthy promised, claiming a unified front for the Republican leadership team. He won by 159-43 among House Republicans. McCarthy, who has been majority leader under Ryan, acknowledged Republicans “took a beating” in the suburbs in last week’s national elections, especially as the ranks of GOP female lawmakers plummeted from 23 to 13. The GOP…

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EXCLUSIVE: U.S. House Freedom Caucus Members Fundraising In Nashville For Conservatives

Laura Baigert

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – House Freedom Caucus leader Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH), along with members Dave Brat (R-Virginia), Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Scott Perry (R-PA) accompanied Tennessee’s 4th District Scott DesJarlais to a Fundraising Reception held in Nashville to benefit the House Freedom Fund. The House Freedom Fund is a Political Action Committee (PAC), with Jordan serving as Chairman, that “helps elect rock-solid conservative candidates to the U.S. House of Representatives.” All five Congressman made comments in front of the group of attendees and then mingled amongst them, making their rounds to speak with everyone on an individual basis over the course of a couple of hours. All expressed optimism for the future as well as support for each other, fellow Freedom Caucus members and President Trump. The comments addressed a variety of topics including current legislative issues of Obamacare repeal and tax reform as well as some of their individual experiences since being in Washington, D.C. Congressman DesJarlais, who holds the highest conservative scorecard ratings of the entire Tennessee delegation, said of the event, “I’m glad my colleagues could experience some Tennessee hospitality, while we plan for the future.” He continued, The event was an opportunity for conservatives to come…

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Commentary: War on Freedom Caucus is Really War With Trump’s Base

Tennessee Star Staff

by Richard A Viguerie, CHQ Chairman Mr. President, Steve Bannon said at CPAC this February, “Hold us accountable for what we promised. Hold us accountable for delivering what we promised.” We knew Reince Priebus and Paul Ryan would not read the memo. Et tu, Mr. President? Your fit against the Freedom Caucus for not going along with supporting RyanCare certainly is not fooling the members of the Freedom Caucus. They have long been under attack by the GOP establishment for doing things like actually voting on bills consistent with their campaign promises. Going to war with the Freedom Caucus is going to war with your base. You have to decide, Mr. President, whether you will align yourself with the leaders of the swamp – or grassroots Americans. You are a branding mastermind, but siding with the Priebus-Ryan wing of the GOP is the defective, knock-off, cheap imitation of the product you claimed to be selling when you were campaigning. Declaring war on the Freedom Caucus for sticking to their ObamaCare promise in the face of GOP establishment attacks makes them heroes to us. People voted for you because they are fed up with politicians campaigning on promises that are broken…

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Commentary: Priebus And Ryan Hijack President Trump’s Twitter Account

Tennessee Star Staff

ConservativeHQ.com Staff April 1, 2017 Make no mistake about what went on Thursday with the shocking tweet in which President Trump appeared to attack members of the Freedom Caucus, some of his earliest and staunchest supporters in Congress. It is not about a policy difference over getting rid of Obamacare – it is about White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and his home state buddy House Speaker Paul Ryan saving their jobs. Priebus is clearly out of his depth as White House Chief of Staff. His only real qualification for the job is his relationship with Speaker Ryan and after the Ryancare debacle in which the President was drawn into supporting a bill something like 100 members of the House Republican Conference were prepared to vote against Priebus’ job was on the line. And it still is. Same with Ryan. When the Ryancare – or RINOcare bill as we prefer to call it – blew up Washington was abuzz with the rumor that Ryan was on his way out as Speaker. Republican officials in Congress and the White House were openly discussing finding a GOP replacement to Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House, after Ryan failed to pass…

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