'Growing concern' about the future of right-wing Freedom Caucus as Republicans turn on each other
The far-right House Freedom Caucus has plunged into turmoil over the last week, as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was expelled from the group over her perceived status as an inside person for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and other members attacking founding member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as a "RINO" [Republican In Name Only].
CNN's Melanie Zanona described the chaos on Monday, as a Republican caucus once unified against the "establishment" is turning on each other.
"What led the group to push out Congresswoman Greene?" asked anchor Jake Tapper.
"Well, Jake, it really boils down to the fact Marjorie Taylor Greene has become such a close ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy," said Zanona. "And the Freedom Caucus really feels like this runs counter to their founding mission, which is to be a thorn in the side of leadership. But tensions have gotten high, and they feel like they can't trust Greene to the point where I'm told there's now this little subgroup that has been having these secret side meetings to talk strategy because they didn't feel like they could trust Marjorie Taylor Greene being in the room and not essentially go and tell on them to Speaker McCarthy about their tactics."
"I want to read you what one of those members told me," Zanona continued. "They said, 'People don't feel comfortable talking in Freedom Caucus meetings because of Marjorie and others, so the group has sort of broken up... the Freedom Caucus is not what it was when [former Republican House Speaker John] Boehner was in office.' And indeed the group has been struggling to find its footing and find its real sense of purpose in the post-Trump years, and since Republicans have taken the majority, they have been split over tactics, over strategy, and even over whether to support former President Donald Trump.
All of this comes, she noted, amid new reporting that Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Ken Buck (R-CO), two outspoken Freedom Caucus members, almost left the group in response to the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
"They were two members that were very vocal about not supporting Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election," said Zanona. "Now, they ultimately stayed in the group, but since then they have become some of these Freedom Caucus members who have been deviating from the pack and often find themselves doing their own thing. So just a lot of growing concern in the Freedom Caucus as this group wrestles with their identity."
Watch the segment below or at this link.
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