House Moderates Aim to Be Counterweight to Freedom Caucus

GOTHAM HALL, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2022/09/12: Congressman Josh Gottheimer speaks duri
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Moderate House Republicans and Democrats aim to be a counterweight to the conservative House Freedom Caucus as different wings of the House aim for influence in a slim House Republican majority.

Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), the leader of the moderate Republican Governance Group, said, “Kevin’s not stupid. He’s trying to add to his numbers, not destroy his base. And so I count on his political acumen to know what’s acceptable to the rank and file inside the conference.”

 Joyce and other moderate groups, such as the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, the Main Street Caucus, and other groups are now vying for more influence as House Republicans will obtain a slim majority in the new year. Likely Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) may only have roughly five votes to lose during controversial votes on spending, the debt limit, and other topics.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), the leaders of the Problems Solvers Caucus, recently met for dinner to discuss how they ensure more unity in their 50-member group, and thus become more influential.

“We just want to make the group more accountable … I mean, the whole point of our group is to stick together on the floor when we endorse bills,” the moderate Republican said.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), the co-leader of the Main Street Caucus, said, “It’s time we flex our muscles.”

The moderate-leaning Republicans have already staked out positions on potentially controversial topics in the House Republican Conference — such as the impeachment of President Joe Biden.

“We shouldn’t even be talking about that,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said, referring to impeachment.

“I want to warn our colleagues: There may be some activists in our party that want impeachment. But I can tell you that the swing voters and the independent voters don’t. …We change leadership by elections, impeachment is the outlier,” Bacon remarked.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

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