House conservatives beat back Republican leaders when they tried recently to crack down on one of their own — a triumph that stunned members and aides in both parties.

Now the hard-liners are looking to press their advantage.


The three dozen members of the House Freedom Caucus are plotting an agenda over the next year that includes using their growing clout to try to block some initiatives — such as the renewal of the Export-Import Bank and raising spending caps — and, in a shift toward pragmatism, to accept other bills but try to make them more conservative, like a controversial highway funding measure. The group, whose success has prompted some senior, longtime Republicans to seek membership, is also planning a “Contract with America”-style manifesto of legislative proposals that it will lobby GOP leaders to take up.

That policy agenda will outline what fights the hard-line members most care about and detail how they view their role within the caucus. Expect issues like Obamacare and spending to be at the forefront.

The caucus, which has had a mixed record since forming in February, will have plenty of chances in the coming weeks to test its strength. Its members are itching for a fight over any attempt by leaders to revive the dormant Ex-Im Bank. And they’ll continue to push to repeal parts or all of Obamacare, even if those votes have failed dozens of times and are bound to fall short again.

“We need to show our vision of where we need to go,” Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the caucus’ chairman, said during a recent interview in his Capitol Hill office. “You know why 65 percent of Republicans don’t think we’re doing what we said we were going to do? Because we’re not. We have a chance now, an opportunity now, to do what we said we were going to do.”

It appears that GOP leadership is paying the group more attention — for now. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana called Freedom Caucus members over the weeklong Fourth of July recess to discuss upcoming legislation. And Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan dispatched a top lieutenant, Rep. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, to meet with the caucus about what the panel is planning.

That inclusion is what Freedom Caucus members say they’ve been seeking from Speaker John Boehner’s team all along.

“If you’re going to try and corral us all, you’re going to have to make us feel like we’re part of the process,” said Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), a Freedom Caucus member. “From what I’ve seen they are trying to reach out. They’ve done it in the past, and it lasts for a time, and then they go back to their old ways. But they have to realize what motivates us and that there are consequences if you cross a line.”

The caucus made its presence felt last week, when GOP leadership had to struggle to pass a rewrite of a controversial education bill over conservative objections. The No Child Left Behind measure cleared the House, but with no votes to spare.

Members are also expanding their agenda to include social issues after spending the five months since the caucus’ creation focusing mostly on economics. On Thursday, the caucus backed a provision from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) that would block the federal government from denying tax exemptions to groups that refuse to serve gays if the decision is based on religious beliefs.

They are asking for a vote on the bill before August.

The conservatives scored a major legislative win when the Ex-Im Bank expired at the end of June. The government bank has long been in the cross hairs of conservatives who call it a prime example of “crony capitalism.”

Long known as the “Hell No” Caucus, the conservatives are looking for ways to turn their chest-thumping opposition into real legislative gains. In some ways, the Freedom Caucus is growing more sophisticated. It built an internal whip counter that informs the cardinals of the group how each member plans to vote. Members are drafting the policy platform, expected to be issued in the coming weeks. And they are trying to change their reputation as a bunch of yellers who don’t actually want to get anything done.

“Loud actions are necessary when there is a crisis. But if you go around doing loud actions all the time, pretty soon you’re a joke. You’re a caricature of something,” Salmon said. “I think responses have to be measured and have to be in concert with what is happening at the time.”

“The average person is going to scratch their head and say, ‘What in the heck is going on up there?’” Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) said of the political agenda of the Republican Party. “Our group has the intent of getting to yes with leadership … there is stuff being spun” that it is anti-Boehner. “That’s all false.”

The real question, added Brat — who came out of nowhere to upset then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor last year — is why leadership doesn’t listen more often to “35 to 40 members who have solid principled objections that match our philosophy.”

North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan talk before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. | AP photo

From the start, Freedom Caucus members have said they want to work with leadership to change legislation that they don’t feel passes conservative muster. Their political wins have garnered widespread attention, even if they haven’t been able to persuade GOP leaders to wholly include members in policy decisions yet. After they focused widespread media attention on Boehner’s deal making with Democrats on trade as well as a change in how doctors who treat Medicare patients are reimbursed, members said they saw a spike in interest in joining the group.

The caucus has about 40 members but refuses to provide a roster. A source close to the caucus said the nine founding members have heard from about 60 members total who are seriously interested in joining. Eight-term Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), former chairman of the powerful Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is poised to became a member.

But the Freedom Caucus has turned away lawmakers who it doesn’t believe will advance its cause or are more interested in headlines about themselves, that source said.

The group’s tactics have won it few friends outside a relatively narrow contingent of conservatives. Much of the Republican Conference believes the hard-liners are interested only in stopping progress. Critics say the group will often ask for a laundry list of changes to legislation that includes a few reasonable items, then hold out unless it gets everything.

When leadership decides, as if it often does, that it’s easier to cull votes from moderate Republicans or Democrats, Boehner has gone around the Freedom Caucus.

That’s generally when the caucus decides to fight back — as it did during the trade debate.

Jordan had asked for three concessions in the trade package but was rebuffed by Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and GOP leadership. That rejection turned out to be a momentary setback. Dozens of conservatives teamed up with Democrats to force down a trade assistance bill before the measure ultimately passed a week later.

But the vote spurred a bigger revolt among conservatives.

Days later, Boehner and his top deputies removed three members from the whip team and, along with Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), stripped Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) of his subcommittee gavel on the committee. But the punishment didn’t last long.

Digging through obscure committee bylaws, Freedom Caucus members identified a provision stating that a committee chairman’s selection or dismissal of a subcommittee chairman could be overruled by a majority of his party’s lawmakers on the panel. The oversight panel is stacked with Freedom Caucus members, and within the week they forced the reinstatement of Meadows.

The episode made conservatives look stronger and Boehner and his leadership team appear feckless and unable to manage the conference.

Rebelling against the Meadows punishment “was 100 percent the right thing to do,” Salmon said. “But after that, if you just keep kicking someone when they are down, that’s a mistake, too. No one is going to respect an entity that sits by while somebody abuses them. No one will respect you.”