(Ezekiel Loseke, Headline USA) The House Freedom Caucus has received some of the most desirable appointments from Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., after their battle over his seat, adding even more conservative reforms to the Congress as a result of the spat.
The committee responsible for investigations, the House Oversight Committee, is adding six members from the Freedom Caucus, Axios reported. The new members are Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Scott Perry, R-Pa., Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Bobert, R-Colo.
McCarthy has thus empowered the Freedom Caucus to investigate the Biden administration.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will be the chair of the Judiciary Committee, and received more seats on the committee. It also retained Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as a member. This committee matters because it is where articles of impeachment for Joe Biden would initiate.
Mark Green, R-Tenn., will be the head of the Homeland Security Committee.
Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga, and Michael Cloud, R-Texas, were added to the committee on Appropriations. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn, was added to Financial Services.
Some members were concerned that McCarthy was out for blood and revenge on holdouts with appointments, but were pleasantly surprised by his leadership.
“I was watching that and I thought, ‘Maybe there will be some retribution,'” Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., said. “Honestly, it was so fair, right across the board … there’s no residual from [the speaker election], nobody had a hangover.”
Other Republican House members heaped praise on McCarthy.
“We as a steering committee focused on making sure there was balance on all the committees,” Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said. “I think the speaker did a good job with it.”
These appointments may be seen as McCarthy fulfilling his promises to the Freedom Caucus. He promised to appoint caucus members to the rules committee, to seriously drain the swamp and to hold the administration accountable.
The appointments are a major victory for the Freedom Caucus resulting from its hardball negotiations with McCarthy, and need to be added to the major institutional reforms and rules package that the Caucus also won.
