As Hill Republicans scramble to implement Donald Trump’s agenda, there’s a question kicking around GOP circles: Will the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus be the president-elect’s biggest supporters or his biggest problem children?
To be clear, the HFC is home to some of the Trumpiest members in Washington. Hardline conservatives were only willing to back Mike Johnson for speaker — who they still have reservations about — out of deference to Trump. It took a phone call from the incoming president to flip the remaining two Freedom Caucus holdouts, Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Keith Self (R-Texas), into Johnson’s column. Trump should be able to count on the conservative crew to fall in line on nearly all issues.
Yet the HFC, which built its brand on being a thorn in the side of House GOP leaders, has also been willing to defy Trump at times. For instance, 38 Republicans, many of them Freedom Caucus members, voted against a Trump-endorsed CR in December that would have also lifted the debt limit because it lacked spending cuts.
So it’s clear these hardliners are sometimes comfortable banding together and bucking Trump — at least when they have strength in numbers.
A rocky start. During an HFC meeting late last month after Johnson revealed his new CR and debt limit plan, multiple members said they were put off by how James Braid, Trump’s incoming top congressional liaison and a former HFC staffer himself, handled the government funding negotiations.
Braid called into a Dec. 19 meeting to pressure members to raise the debt limit, forcefully reminding them that is what Trump called for, according to multiple sources. Braid’s allies say he was simply articulating Trump’s position and trying to make clear to members that the president-elect would not waver on the issue. But we’re told several HFC members found Braid’s demeanor overly aggressive and privately complained to each other afterward.
House Republicans ended up agreeing to address the debt limit in reconciliation and pair it with $2.5 trillion worth of spending cuts. However, some Freedom Caucus members are skeptical that the party will keep that promise, especially after GOP lawmakers were warned at an off-campus retreat last weekend that not all of their wishes are going to be fulfilled.
We’ve written a lot about the HFC’s identity crisis in recent years. Yet Trump’s return to Washington and how the group navigates his demands, as well as looming debt limit and government funding deadlines, may prove to be the ultimate test.
At some point, the HFC’s allegiance to Trump will likely conflict with the group’s core ethos of fiscal responsibility. But with one big reconciliation package containing a host of border, tax and energy provisions, the general thinking is that it’ll be difficult for any single member to block it.
For his part, Trump has shown an early interest in being incredibly hands-on with Capitol Hill Republicans. This will be a dynamic to watch in the coming days and months.
In addition to having one-on-one calls with everyone from leadership to rank-and-file members, Trump has also summoned key factions to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to get everyone on the same page. Notably, the House Freedom Caucus will be up first.
Trump — who will be in town for a memorial for the late President Jimmy Carter — is also expected to attend a meeting with Senate Republicans on Wednesday, as we scooped on Monday.
Past turbulence with Trump. Several HFC members endorsed against Trump early in the campaign cycle, which in part prompted the incoming president to help oust the group’s former chair, now-former Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), in a contentious primary last year.
Good and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), the HFC policy chair, backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — a former HFC member — for president, while Norman endorsed fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley. Trump hasn’t forgotten, of course. Trump brought up Norman’s support for Haley when they talked during the speaker vote last week.
Trump also went after Roy in a Truth Social post last month after the Texas Republican opposed raising the debt limit. Trump called Roy an “obstructionist” and said he wanted the fourth-term lawmaker to be primaried.
But the two had a more cordial interaction last week ahead of Friday’s speakership vote. During a phone call, Trump promised to lay off Roy but said he needed to vote for Johnson, as we first reported. Roy ultimately followed Trump’s demand.
There have been other tension points between Trump world and HFC though.
During last year’s primaries, we wrote about HFC members complaining about Trump’s endorsements, saying he was picking moderates over conservatives.
And Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign manager, continues to be openly antagonistic about helping to topple the group’s leader last cycle. Meanwhile, many HFC members believed Russ Vought, Trump’s OMB Director pick, would have been a stronger ally to them as chief of staff over Susie Wiles.
Some HFC insiders pushed back, however, playing up the group’s strong ties to Vice President-elect JD Vance.
