Sizing up the Freedom Caucus: A Look into the Conservative Powerhouse in Congress

2022-11-10 08:00:00

The so-called Freedom Caucus, a group of representatives within the Republican caucus 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, lawmakers overwhelmingly voted once morest certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, following the lie spread by the defeated Republican president that Democrat Joe Biden had stolen the election. You can only become a member of the group by invitation; its exact size is unclear.

A few members are known because their membership was made public. Particularly in the spotlight was Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who also won her constituency in Georgia this year and was thus able to enter Congress for a second term. She became known for her aggressive rhetoric. She has compared abortion to the Holocaust and has repeatedly publicly defended the claim that the presidential election was stolen.

Jim Jordan, Representative from Ohio, is also known as a member of the Freedom Caucus, in fact he was one of the founders, the first chairman and, since 2017, vice chairman. He is often described as the most conservative member of Congress and has reliably voted for Republican projects.

Connections already exist

Other well-known members include Lauren Boebert from Colorado, whose election results have not yet been determined, Matt Gaetz from Florida, who clearly defended his seat, and Paul Gosar from Arizona, who is also returning to Congress.

In addition to these members who have defended their seats, Republicans are moving into the House of Representatives who, given their previously expressed political beliefs, are definitely candidates for membership.

For example, there is Andy Ogles from Tennessee. Ogles, following the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the nation’s abortion ban, claimed there was no need to discuss exceptions for cases of rape or incest because statistically they do not occur at all. The self-proclaimed “most conservative mayor in Tennessee” described the debate as a “war.” “We must get back to honoring God and country,” he said following his victory in the Republican primary.

Anna Paulina Luna already has ties to the Freedom Caucus: Marjorie Taylor Greene recommended her to Florida voters. For Luna – a Christian – this was a sign that Greene was not anti-Semitic. She herself was raised by a Jewish father. There is also a video of Luna describing herself as a “pro-life” extremist and saying that she believes the 2020 election was stolen. Luna says she just wanted to poke fun at her competitor’s comments.

Do they support McCarthy?

From New York comes George Santos, who attended Donald Trump’s rally on January 6th and said followingwards that Trump appeared there in all his “greatness”. He described the subsequent storm on the Capitol as “sad and dark.” However, in a video he said he wrote a check in defense of the attackers. “How regarding you go into your own house and then be charged with trespassing,” he defended himself.

In addition to these three, there are even more new MPs who are questioning the 2020 election results or adhering to other conspiracy theories. According to various counts by various media outlets, there were up to 300 Republican candidates – for positions in Congress in Washington but also at the state level – who spread Trump’s lie. Have one of these Overview from the Washington Post According to 169 won their elections. However, the number might still rise as some election results are still pending.

Sofia Dreisbach, Washington Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 15 Majid Sattar Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 7 A comment from Nikolas Busse Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 36

While this group has belonged to the opposition faction in recent years, the Republicans’ chances of winning the majority in the House of Representatives are not bad. However, given the very small majority that is emerging, they will have a lot of leverage 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 that are important to him.

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