The conservative-based House Freedom Caucus, which gained political fame by ousting one Republican House speaker (John Boehner) and making life miserable for another (Paul Ryan), has added a new member to its circle. It’s Idaho Congressman Russ Fulcher.
Fulcher, who was undecided about joining the caucus when he took office in January, says he has been part of that group for some time. But while the freedom caucus remains active on a wide variety of issues, it is not the same political animal that it was four years ago when members (including Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador) were instrumental in taking out Boehner.
For Fulcher, membership with the freedom caucus is not about shaking up Congress or blasting fellow Republicans for campaigning as conservatives, but voting for big spending. There are no efforts behind the scene to reshape the power structure of House Republicans, which is a good thing since Republicans don’t have much clout in that chamber. Democrats are running the show now and the conservative agenda is not on the radar. The majority party’s focus is in three areas:
- Do more investigations of President Trump;
- Explore impeachment of the president;
- Pass a series of bills that don’t have a snowball’s chance of getting through the Republican-led Senate.
Author: Chuck Malloy
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