House Freedom Caucus Takes Its Crusade to the States
Georgia state capitol RobHainer/iStock.com
Nationwide network aims to bolster conservative activists in state legislatures—sometimes for fights against their party leaders.
The House Freedom caucus is taking its battle for what it calls “open, accountable and limited government, the Constitution and the rule of law, and policies that promote the liberty, safety and prosperity of all Americans” to the state level.
This week, Freedom Caucus leaders announced the creation of the State Freedom Caucus Network. The idea is that the national-level organization will provide state legislators with resources in such areas as staffing, communication, strategy, tactics and logistics, The Washington Times reported.
Caucus leaders believe that “will give them the space to deliver their message more effectively while pushing back on their own leadership from time to time,” The Times reported.
Pushing back on Republican Party leadership has been a hallmark of the House Freedom Caucus. Its members’ aggressive promotion of their belief in strict limits on government has frequently put them at odds with GOP leaders. They have become, in the process, a powerful but divisive force in national politics.
Caucus members plan to leverage their power to influence politics in various states.
"The one thing we have recognized is that not a lot of attention is placed at the state level, which means that leadership and the establishment is able to just run roughshod over conservatives in order to achieve their agenda, and that means isolating them, dividing them and keeping them in the dark. So even with just a little bit of organization, we believe we can achieve quite a bit," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., who will become chairman of the House Freedom Caucus in January, told Fox News.
The State Freedom Caucus initiative will involve the creation of three organizations: the network; the State Freedom Caucus Foundation, focused on training lawmakers on how to be effective; and State Freedom Caucus Action, aimed at countering attacks from both Democrats and Republicans.
In recent years, the House Freedom Caucus has taken aim not only at federal spending, but at government measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, such as mask-wearing requirements and vaccine mandates.
The Washington-based Conservative Policy Institute has announced it will host an event to launch the State Freedom Caucus Network on Dec. 14 in Atlanta. The organization lists its key issues as “election integrity, critical race theory, school choice, vaccine mandates, and police reform.”
Representatives from the following states are slated to attend, the organization said: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.