Congress

The House Freedom Caucus and the 10-Year Battle Between ‘Yes’ and ‘No’

What started a decade ago as a conservative organization focused on principles and fixing the legislative process has morphed into a group primarily focused on supporting Donald Trump. Would a group like that actually oppose Trump’s reconciliation bill?

Ralph Norman, Jim Jordan, Andy Harris, Cliff Bentz

Reps. Ralph Norman, Jim Jordan, and Andy Harris converse during the second day of the House speakership election at the U.S. Capitol. Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP

By Katherine Swartz and Ben T.N. Mause

April 21, 2025 05:00 AM

As the House recently worked through adopting the Senate’s budget, there was one group of holdouts that Speaker Mike Johnson — and President Donald Trump — had to win over: The House Freedom Caucus.

“We’ve become the most significant faction in Congress, certainly,” Rep. Clay Higgins, a Freedom Caucus member, told NOTUS during the recent budget battle. “Possibly in the history of Congress.”

In exchange for their votes on the budget, Freedom Caucus members were promised substantial spending cuts. In fact, an initial memo from the White House, obtained by NOTUS, promises “at Least $2 Trillion” in cuts over 10 years.