With a Republican about to be sworn in as president, the House Freedom Caucus intends to spend less time battling its own leadership under new Chairman Mark Meadows.
Meadows, who represents North Carolina’s 11th District, is perhaps best known for his nearly unprecedented threat to use a floor procedure to oust House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who retired soon after.
Now Meadows said he is prepared to work more closely with current House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and “hand in glove” with the new Trump administration to advance a GOP agenda that can be signed into law.
“I think it’s incumbent upon all of us to figure out how we can legislate going forward, understanding there may be difference of opinion on how conservative a piece of legislation needs to be, or should be,” Meadows said in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
Meadows succeeds Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. They share similar goals for the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which, according to its mission statement, advocates “open, accountable and limited government, the Constitution and the rule of law, and policies that promote the liberty, safety and prosperity of all Americans.”
But Meadows, a former real estate developer, appears more eager to bridge the longstanding gap between the GOP leadership and the caucus, and even the most conservative lawmakers say that’s not such a bad thing.
“I think he’s trying to work within the system, but still be a conservative,” Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., told the Examiner.
Meadows will be working to repair a divide that grew after years of caucus members bucking Republican leaders on key legislation. The group, who number about 40 lawmakers, earned the enmity of the GOP conference in 2013 when they led the party into a politically disastrous spending showdown with Democrats over Obamacare funding. The fight resulted in a 16-day closure of the federal government and a GOP plunge in the polls.
Meadows said the caucus is now most interested in passing legislation, even if it means working with the most moderate members of the GOP.
“You are going to find some of us from a political standpoint, trying to find the sweet spot between us and the more moderate members of our caucus,” Meadows said. “You’ve got to understand it is representative form of government. People represent different districts and hopefully we can find some common ground.”
Meadows said the House Freedom Caucus also will work to turn its policy positions into actual legislation that includes input from the more moderate lawmakers in the conference.
He said the group hopes to sponsor 12 bills of its own and sign on to eight pieces of legislation that may be less conservative but still hold true to its principles.
The purpose, Meadows said, “is more a function of just trying to get a real broad support for a variety of ideas we believe represent what the American people want.”
The group has released a list of 228 rules and regulations Donald Trump should eliminate once he takes office, including President Obama’s executive actions on the environment and immigration.
Meadows said he has not met with Trump but is discussing a possible trip with Jordan to Trump Tower to meet with incoming Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon “on how we can work more effectively together.”
The caucus already has an inroad to the Trump administration now that top member and fiscal conservative Mick Mulvaney, of South Carolina, has been tapped to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Meadows said the only “red line” the group will try to push for is the fast repeal of Obamacare, which both the GOP and Trump have promised to quickly execute.
Beyond that, Meadows said he’s ready to negotiate.
“If you are saying, will we build a principled bridge to find common ground, then without a doubt that is my desire and that is what I believe will happen in very short order,” Meadows said. “The real key is as long as you stay true to your principles and respectfully and kindly articulate the differences, it becomes a much more persuasive argument in a non-divided government.”
