Freedom Caucus reelects Andy Harris as chair

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) will chair the House Freedom Caucus through the end of 2025, members of the group decided on Monday night, cementing his leadership of the hardline conservative caucus.

“It is my honor to continue to serve as House Freedom Caucus chairman,” Harris said in a statement on his reelection. “This coming year will be pivotal as we work to deliver on President Trump’s agenda, continue the fight to reduce government spending, secure our borders, and defend our constitutional freedoms.”

Harris became chair of the Freedom Caucus in September, replacing Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) after he stepped down following a primary loss.

The Maryland lawmaker, who has represented the state’s 1st Congressional District since 2011, also has a powerful position on the House Appropriations Committee, chairing its subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration.

The Freedom Caucus, which has roughly three dozen members, has emerged as a frequent antagonist of House GOP leadership over the last several years, particularly on spending issues, pushing for federal spending cuts. It also aims for internal House GOP rules and policies that decentralize power and give more authority to individual House members.

In its most recent position, the caucus took a side on the strategy on how to push through President-elect Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda.

The Freedom Caucus in a letter told Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that it supports a “fully offset” and “focused” border reconciliation package in January, and then moving “forward to a second, larger reconciliation bill covering taxes, spending, energy, bureaucracy, and more.”

That stands in contrast to some Republicans, such as House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.), who want a single reconciliation package and warn that tax provisions should come first, or else risk missing a window to extend expiring tax cuts.

Good, who was elected chair in December 2023, stepped down as chair after losing a primary to Trump-endorsed challenger, Rep.-elect John McGuire (R-Va.). Trump was vocally bitter about Good’s prior endorsement of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, and was not encouraged by Good’s support for Trump after DeSantis dropped out. Good’s term was supposed to last through 2025.

Harris is the sixth chairman of the group that was founded in 2015 by a group of conservatives that included Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and former Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.).

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