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.”
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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