A member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus announced Thursday that he is resigning from the conservative group.
“I was a member of the Freedom Caucus in the very beginning because we were focused on making the process reforms to get every member’s voice heard and advance conservative policy,” Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., said in a statement sent to the Washington Examiner.
The group of more than 40 right-wing conservatives voted behind closed doors Wednesday and endorsed Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., as its pick for House speaker to replace outgoing John Boehner of Ohio. The endorsement, which was not unanimous, was intended only to apply to Thursday’s House conference vote, which was canceled after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s announcement that he is dropping his bid.
“When the speaker resigned and they pivoted to focusing on the leadership race, I withdrew,” continued Ribble. “I spent thirty years as a leader in the private sector, and I have a clear idea of the qualities a leader will need to unite our conference.”
Ribble is not the first member to ditch the Freedom Caucus. In mid-September Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., announced his resignation citing “missteps” that made the caucus “counterproductive to its stated goals and I no longer wish to be associated with it.”
