House Freedom Caucus boots one member, loses another

The House Freedom Caucus voted to remove Rep. Warren Davidson and saw another member depart from the conservative collective in response.

Mr. Davidson, Ohio Republican, was voted out of the Freedom Caucus in a closed-door meeting Monday following his unprecedented endorsement of House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good’s primary challenger, Virginia state Sen. John McGuire, last month.

Mr. McGuire won the Old Dominion’s primary by less than 400 votes against Mr. Good, who wants a recount.

Mr. Davidson was the first member of the Freedom Caucus to back the opponent of a sitting chairman, a move he argued was about “the men on the ballot.” Following his ouster, the lawmaker said he was “not happy, but very content.”

“Congress will soon be a better place without Bob Good, as will Freedom Caucus,” Mr. Davidson posted on X.

“I am disappointed that some HFC members (a very narrow majority of those present) viewed my opposition to Bob and support for John McGuire as an attack on them or the group,” he continued. “While that was not my intent, their opposition to me was intended. Nevertheless, God is good, and real friendships mend.”

A spokesperson for the Freedom Caucus told The Washington Times that the group “does not comment on membership or internal processes.”

Mr. Davidson and Mr. Good have had a rocky relationship since December when the Ohioan questioned in a letter to his Freedom Caucus colleagues whether Mr. Good would make a good leader for the bloc.

He believed that if the Freedom Caucus’ goal was to boost influence and push conservative policies, Mr. Good would “impair that objective.”

Mr. Davidson’s ouster prompted Rep. Troy Nehls, Texas Republican, to exit the group. Mr. Nehls told USA Today that he didn’t believe Mr. Davidson’s removal was “the direction our organization should take.”

Mr. Davidson is the third member to be removed from the caucus in the past year after the ouster of Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene and Colorado’s Ken Buck.

The fallout from Mr. Good’s primary loss — and the subsequent ouster of Mr. Davidson and voluntary exit by Mr. Nehls — adds to the questions surrounding the conservative group’s future.

Many of the self-described ultraconservative members of the Freedom Caucus want to continue moving in the direction set under Mr. Good’s leadership, while former members and Republicans outside of the caucus say it is more disruptive and constructive in achieving conservative goals.

There also is the question of what to do with Mr. Good. A sitting chair typically serves a two-year term, and a chair has never lost a primary race. Freedom Caucus members told the Times there are no plans to remove Mr. Good as chair if the recount confirmed his loss to Mr. McGuire.