Ribble drops out of conservative Freedom Caucus

WASHINGTON – Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood, has dropped out of the secretive Freedom Caucus, the conservative Republican group that upended the election Thursday for House speaker.

Ribble, a co-founder of the 40-odd member caucus, said the group came together because of frustration with House leadership for not taking into account enough the views of rank and file lawmakers.

But he said he expected the group would focus on trying to improve the way things were being run, for example, getting leaders to rely on committees more and making sure funding bills get passed on time.

“The Freedom Caucus has moved away from this primary focus in recent weeks, and for this reason I have stepped back from the caucus,” Ribble said. "The freedom caucus pivoted their attention to these leadership races and away from policy and I wasn’t interested in making that pivot."

The group is said to have played a role two weeks ago in the decision by current Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to resign. He met with Ribble and four other founding Freedom Caucus members, including its chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the evening before Boehner announced he would leave.

And the caucus had the votes needed to cripple the speaker candidacy of Rep. Kevin McCarthy. He could only lose 29 Republican votes to take the gavel without Democratic votes. The Freedom Caucus had 40, and on Wednesday endorsed another candidate, Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla. McCarthy Thursday announced his withdrawal from the speaker's race.

Ribble, who was a strong supporter of McCarthy’s, is only the second member to break publicly with the the caucus. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., quit in mid-September, saying the group's tactics were not responsibly and effectively advancing its agenda, Politico reported.

Ribble has always been more moderate than many of the caucus’s members. He voted to fund the government in 2013 without requiring changes to the Affordable Care Act, something more conservative members refused to do, triggering a government shutdown.

Even though he is leaving the caucus, he said he will continue trying to create a “more inclusive House of Representatives.”

“We are facing extremely challenging times,” he said. “People are looking for responsible, thoughtful decisions to be made on a whole host of issues confronting our nation. They want a government that is responsive to their needs and accountable for its own actions.