The House Freedom Caucus (HFC) kicked out conservative Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) Monday night after Davidson endorsed the caucus chairman’s primary challenger.
Davidson created a stir this summer after endorsing freedom caucus chairman Rep. Bob Good’s (R-VA) primary challenger, state Sen. John McGuire, who had earned the backing of former President Donald Trump.
McGuire defeated Good by roughly 375 votes in June.
Davidson’s endorsement of a challenger to a fellow freedom caucus member is unusual, although not against caucus rules. But Davidson, a reliable conservative vote perhaps best known for leading the fight on Capitol Hill to require intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant before spying on Americans, has publicly feuded with Good since the latter’s elevation to caucus chair.
Davidson resigned from the caucus’s leadership board early last year in protest of its recommendation to promote Good to caucus chairman. He penned a highly critical letter at the time, asking his freedom caucus colleagues to “consider how to best increase our influence while preserving our power to move policy in the right direction. I strongly feel that Bob Good as Chairman will impair that objective.”
Donald Trump gave Davidson and other Capitol Hill Republicans cover by endorsing McGuire.
Trump viciously attacked Good throughout the primary, calling him “bad for Virginia, and bad for the USA.” Good had initially endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in the 2024 Republican presidential contest, only endorsing Trump after DeSantis dropped out. Good further angered Trump by suggesting on his campaign website and yard signs that Trump had endorsed him.
The Trump campaign reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to Good’s campaign.
The freedom caucus is notoriously secretive, and a caucus spokesman told Breitbart News Monday evening that “HFC does not comment on membership or internal processes.” Even the official membership list is a secret, although caucus members are estimated to number in the mid-thirties.
Freedom caucus members voted to kick out another prominent conservative last year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), amid her public feud with caucus members — chiefly Good — over threats to then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) gavel.
Ultimately, only four other freedom caucus members joined Good in voting to oust McCarthy, despite the group having ejected Greene over a feud primarily stemming from questions surrounding McCarthy’s leadership.
One of those members, the mercurial former-Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), also was ejected from the freedom caucus this year after growing disillusioned with the caucus — and Congress itself. Buck resigned from Congress in March after moderating his voting record and admittedly angling for a job with MSNBC or CNN.
Buck does not appear to have landed at either network.
Greene later endorsed Good’s challenger, McGuire. McCarthy also endorsed McGuire, reportedly steering millions to his campaign.
Tensions inside the conservative caucus remain high, and its future direction is uncertain, regardless of who it chooses to lead after Good leaves Congress. (Good has challenged the primary results, and a recount is underway.)
In another sign of internal disruptions, Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) resigned from the caucus after Monday night’s vote in a disagreement with its direction under Good.
“I respect the HFC and have been aligned with their conservative positions,” he said in a statement provided to Breitbart News. “I want to grow the organization and encourage more members to join. With tonight’s vote, it was clear that is not their objective.”
He continued, “I value what the HFC brings to the table, and I can assure them I will continue to support their conservative agenda. I just won’t be a member.”
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.