In June, members of the House Freedom Caucus voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) from the group — and not for being a far-right conspiracy theorist.
One factor was reportedly the animosity between Greene and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado). Another was Greene's alliance with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California), who Freedom Caucus members view as not being MAGA enough.
The Freedom Caucus, founded in 2015 during then-President Barack Obama's second term, has always been big on litmus tests. Now, according to Politico's Olivia Beavers, members are competing to succeed Freedom Caucus leader Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) after his time in that position ends.
The possibilities, Beavers reports in an article published on July 17, include Rep. Bob Good (R-Virginia), Rep. Chip Roy (Texas), Rep. Dan Bishop (North Carolina), Rep. Ralph Norman (South Carolina), and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio).
Beavers explains, "The Freedom Caucus board will likely decide who takes over, but the famously fractious and anti-leadership group is paying especially close attention this time to how chair candidates plan to deal with Speaker Kevin McCarthy's team. Perry has faced a particularly turbulent year so far, managing the Freedom Caucus as it split over the January speakership vote and later held an unprecedented vote to evict Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene."
Bishop told Politico that he is "not ruling out" running for Freedom Caucus leader, but said he is "more likely" to run for North Carolina attorney general.
Boebert told Politico, "Some qualifying factors, obviously, are their position on votes and policies, but also, how they can communicate that position and get the rest of the team on board. So, you have to have a leader who can unify everyone and get them on the same page without being unreasonable."
One far-right congressman who has managed to remain in good standing with both the House Freedom Caucus and Speaker McCarthy is Caucus Vice Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who is also House Judiciary Committee chairman.
Jordan expressed no preference for a Perry successor, telling Politico, "I'm sure it will be somebody good."
