A coalition of “Freedom Caucus” lawmakers say there is a swamp in each of the 50 states that they will try to drain, pointing to the concessions that archconservatives won in the recent fight over the House speaker on Capitol Hill.
The president of the State Freedom Caucus Network told Fox News that it has 10 state chapters up and running.
“Because of what the House Freedom Caucus did in January during the speaker fight, that has created such a huge inspiration among state lawmakers all over the country,” Andrew Roth told Fox News Digital. “One thing that people may not realize is that there are 50 swamps in the 50 states.”
He said the network, set up in 2021 with support from Freedom Caucus figures in Washington, allows like-minded Republicans to swap strategies and tactics in their advocacy for accountable and limited government.
The report pointed to a battle in South Dakota, where lawmakers are challenging a rule that let Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and her agencies introduce bills without a legislative sponsor.
In South Carolina, caucus members are objecting to new rules that seem to limit their ability to assist campaigns against fellow Republicans or divulge conversations among Republicans to outside groups.
The state lawmakers are pushing back after they were inspired by the raucous marathon vote to elect House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The historic vote took 15 ballots, as members of the Freedom Caucus and other conservatives demanded changes to how the House operates.
It secured a more open amendment process and an easy path toward vacating the chair, a procedure that allows a lawmaker to call for a vote to oust the speaker.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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