Maddow Blog-Members of the House Freedom Caucus evolve into lapdogs in the Trump era

[LetMyPeopleVote]

In recent months, far-right Freedom Caucus members have talked a good game, right before caving under pressure from the president.

House Freedom Caucus members went from uncontrollable pit bulls to obedient lapdogs with incredible speed.

The far-right faction talks a good game, right up until Trump tells them what to do — at which point they roll over. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-05-22T17:03:49.523Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/members-house-freedom-caucus-evolve-lapdogs-trump-era-rcna208517

As the dust settles on the early-morning vote, the grand total of House Freedom Caucus members who voted against the bill they claimed to hate was ... zero.

Two GOP members — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio — voted against the package, but Massie isn’t a part of the far-right contingent and Davidson was kicked out of the group last summer. Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, the Freedom Caucus’ current chairman who repeatedly railed against the bill in recent days, voted “present” in a rather pitiful display.

But as striking as it was to see the Freedom Caucus fall in line, just as important was the familiarity of the circumstances.

In January, House Freedom Caucus members said they were prepared to derail Johnson’s bid for a second term with the gavel, and then they caved.

In March, House Freedom Caucus members said they were opposed to a stopgap spending measure (known as a continuing resolution, or CR) needed to prevent a shutdown, and then they caved.

In April, House Freedom Caucus members slammed their party’s budget resolution, and then caved.

In May, House Freedom Caucus members railed against their party’s reconciliation package, and then they caved.

As a recent Washington Post analysis summarized:

Each threat from leaders of the House Freedom Caucus ended with the same result: capitulation. After caving on each round of threats, these far-right conservatives vowed that the next time would be different — if their demands were not met precisely as they sought. This collection of several dozen Republicans, after a decade of rabble-rousing that helped push aside three other speakers, has yet to fully buck Johnson ... on any major initiative this year.

That was published in early April. Several weeks later, it’s still accurate......

In one especially memorable instance, Freedom Caucus Chair Harris said he was so opposed to his party’s budget resolution that Donald Trump shouldn’t even bother calling him to twist his arm. The president, the Maryland Republican said in April, should “spend time with people whose minds he might change. He’s just not going to change my mind.” Around the same time, Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas called the proposal “a joke” written by legislators who couldn’t “pass a math test.”

Two days later, Harris and Roy voted for the bill they’d vowed to oppose.

It’s at least possible that in coming weeks and months, Freedom Caucus members will eventually find a bill that they consider unacceptable; but for now, we’re dealing with an unmistakable legislative dynamic in which the far-right faction talks a good game, right up until Trump tells them what to do — at which point the lapdogs roll over.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Maddow Blog-On Capitol Hill, Trump megabill proves Republican 'moderates' are more myth than reality

The political world needs to pause, reassess and come to terms with the apparent fact that there are no actual Republican moderates on Capitol Hill.

The political world needs to pause, reassess, and come to terms with the simple fact that there are no actual Republican moderates on Capitol Hill. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-05-23T12:59:17.955Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/capitol-hill-trump-megabill-proves-republican-moderates-are-myth-reali-rcna208714

As the process unfolded over the course of several months, Republicans from competitive districts — including districts that Joe Biden won in 2020 and Kamala Harris won in 2024 — focused on a couple of core priorities: preventing deep Medicaid cuts and preserving clean energy investments. On Wednesday night, with just hours remaining before the bill reached the House floor for a vote, the House speaker told his so-called “moderate” members that he was moving forward with a bill that largely ignored their concerns. Politico reported roughly nine hours before the vote:

A key moderate Republican is balking over the [Inflation Reduction Act] piece of the megabill after getting briefed on changes made to placate conservatives. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) said he’s “not happy” with the changes to the IRA tax credits and wouldn’t commit his vote as GOP leaders race toward a potential floor vote as soon as tonight. “I think these things I’m hearing could end up killing a lot of projects that have been announced all over the country,” he told reporters after huddling with other moderates in Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.

Soon after, Garbarino, despite feeling “not happy” with his party’s last-minute, far-right changes, endorsed the bill anyway. How many of his “moderate” colleagues did the same thing, voting for the legislation after their party’s leaders blew off their concerns and priorities? Literally all of them. The group included Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, who also expressed doubts before ultimately backing the package......

A couple of years ago, an unnamed GOP lawmaker told an NBC News reporter, “Moderates always cave. A tale as old as time.” That’s largely true, though it also raises related questions that are too often overlooked: If “moderates” effectively always vote the same way as their far-right colleagues, then are they actually “moderates”? Or does it make more sense for the political world to pause, reassess and come to terms with the apparent fact that there are no actual Republican moderates on Capitol Hill?

I’m reminded of a point The Atlantic’s Jon Chait made in 2023, when he was still at New York magazine:

[blockquote]“Moderate” Republicans, as the media has absurdly taken to labeling conservative Republicans who have qualms about seizing power through non-electoral means, have shown through the last few weeks precisely how serious they are about their principles. They are willing to fight for them, for a short period of time, before arriving at the same position as their right-wing coalition partners.

That assessment remains valid two years later.

What’s especially striking about this dynamic is that these Republicans actually have incredible leverage, especially in light of the party’s tiny majority. What’s more, they have a very compelling excuse they can bring to Johnson and other party leaders: As the prevailing political winds start to turn against Republicans, and with historical trends favoring Democrats next year, these GOP members from competitive districts can plausibly tell their own party, “Look, if I go along with a radical, far-right agenda, I’ll lose; Democrats will take my seat; and we’ll end up in the minority.”

But they don’t use that leverage — perhaps because they’re too weak, perhaps because they’re too scared, or because their genuine political beliefs aren’t nearly as “centrist” as they like to pretend.