Dhe so-called Freedom Caucus, a group of members of the Republican faction in the House of Representatives in Washington, is known for its extremely conservative views. In recent years, this group has made a strong public appearance. On January 6, 2021, Congressmen overwhelmingly voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, following the lie propagated by the defeated Republican president that Democrat Joe Biden stole the election. Membership in the group is by invitation only, and its exact size is unclear.
A few members are known because their membership has become public. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who won her constituency in Georgia again this year and was able to enter Congress for a second term, was particularly in the spotlight. She became known for her aggressive rhetoric. She has compared abortion to the Holocaust and repeatedly publicly defended claims that the presidential election was stolen.
Ohio State Assemblyman Jim Jordan is also known as a member of the Freedom Caucus, having been one of the founders, the first chairman and vice chairman since 2017. Often cited as the most conservative member of Congress, he has consistently voted for Republican projects.
Connections already exist
Other well-known members are Lauren Boebert from Colorado, whose election result is not yet known, Matt Gaetz from Florida, who clearly defended his seat, or Paul Gosar from Arizona, who is also re-entering Congress.
In addition to these members, who have defended their seats, Republicans are moving into the House of Representatives who, based on the political beliefs they have expressed so far, are definitely candidates for membership.
For example, there’s Andy Ogles from Tennessee. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn the nation’s abortion ban, Ogles claimed there was no need to discuss exceptions for rape or incest cases because, statistically, they didn’t occur at all. The self-proclaimed “most conservative mayor in Tennessee” described the debate as a “war”. “We need to get back to honoring God and honoring the country,” he said after winning the Republican primary.
Anna Paulina Luna already has ties to the Freedom Caucus: Marjorie Taylor Greene recommended her to Florida voters for voting. For Luna – a Christian – it was a sign that Greene was not anti-Semitic. She herself was raised by a Jewish father. Luna also has a video in which she describes herself as a “pro-life” extremist and says she thinks the 2020 election was stolen. Luna says she was just trying to poke fun at her competitor’s attributions.
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From New York comes George Santos, who attended Donald Trump’s rally on Jan. 6 and said afterwards that Trump was there in all his “brilliance.” He described the ensuing storming of the Capitol as “sad and dark.” However, in a video he said he wrote a check in defense of the attackers. “How about you go into your own house and then be reported for trespassing,” he defended.
In addition to these three, there are more new MPs who cast doubt on the 2020 election results or subscribe to other conspiracy theories. According to different counts by various media, there were up to 300 Republican candidates – for posts in Congress in Washington but also at the state level – who spread Trump’s lie. According to an overview by the Washington Post, 169 of these won their elections. The number could still rise, however, as some election results are still pending.
While this group has been part of the opposition faction for the past few years, the Republicans’ chances of gaining a majority in the House of Representatives are not bad. In view of the very small majority that is emerging, however, they will have a very large lever at their disposal to put pressure on the parliamentary group leadership. The likely speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy – if he gets the votes for his election in his group – will be forced to respond to their demands if he wants to secure the majority for projects important to him.