Maryland Rep. Andy Harris elected chairman of House Freedom Caucus

The conservative House Freedom Caucus has elected Rep. Rep. Andy Harris to be its next chairman.

The six-term lawmaker is the only Republican member of the Maryland delegation, an otherwise staunchly Democratic group of lawmakers who largely despises the hard-line conservative caucus.

Mr. Harris’ ascension marks the end of a short-lived search to find a replacement for Rep. Bob Good, Virginia Republican, who stepped aside after losing a hard-fought primary battle against John McGuire.

“It is an honor to serve as the next House Freedom Caucus chairman,” Mr. Harris said in a statement. “I look forward to leading this caucus as we confront the reckless spending of the Biden-Harris administration, work to secure our southern border, and defend our constitutional freedoms in the House of Representatives.”

Mr. Harris, 67, will helm the Freedom Caucus until at least the end of the year. The group in January will elect a chairman for the regular two-year term, and Mr. Harris will likely be a candidate.

“The House Freedom Caucus chairmanship is in capable hands with [Mr. Harris],” Mr. Good posted on X. 

Mr. Harris was an original member of the Freedom Caucus, which was founded in 2015 as an offshoot of the tea party movement and organized by lawmakers to act as a foil to House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican. 

Mr. Harris also serves as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, underscoring his prowess on spending issues that top the agenda for the Freedom Caucus.

Indeed, Mr. Harris was the architect of the continuing resolution that would fund part of the government, a move that House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, deployed multiple times to buy Congress more time during last year’s spending fight.

Mr. Harris also has a long record as a staunch conservative.

That didn’t stop Mr. Harris’ Maryland colleagues from holding out hope that with him at the helm, the Freedom Caucus would begin to play the Washington game.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a fiercely anti-Trump Democrat from Maryland, credited Mr. Harris for breaking with the Freedom Caucus to support federal funds for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed into the Patapsco River in  Baltimore in March when a container ship struck it.

Mr. Raskin said Mr. Harris “worked well” with Democrats but ran afoul of the fiscally conservative caucus he now leads.

Mr. Raskin also faulted Mr. Harris’ conservative politics dating back to when they were both in the Maryland state Senate, noting that Mr. Harris has strongly opposed the Biden administration’s efforts to support Ukraine’s war with Russia. 

“I think it’s time for them to change the name of the Freedom Caucus, because they’re not supporting freedom in America or anywhere else,” Mr. Raskin said.