Good Tapped to Lead Raucous Freedom Caucus as Dysfunction Grows

Rep. Bob Good, one of a handful of Republicans who forced the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, will be the next chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus after an internal election Monday.

He replaces current Chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in January.

Good of Virginia will take over the caucus leadership role amid dysfunction in the House, with government funding set to run out in early 2024 without congressional action. He is closely aligned with former President Donald Trump and favors his Make American Great Again populist agenda, one not always in sync with the rest of the House GOP.

The second-term lawmaker ran unopposed.

Perry said being HFC chairman means Good will be representing the entire caucus, as opposed to his own interests.

“You’re representing the group, the brand, and you have to be open to maybe things you wouldn’t be otherwise,” said Perry, who did not vote to remove McCarthy.

Good declined to comment on his election following the meeting.

“Bob Good is a conservative leader,” said Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.). “I think he will do a great job with the caucus and enlarge its membership and chart a strong conservative course forward.”

The Freedom Caucus has been a thorn in the side of GOP leadership since its formation in 2015.

The caucus is known for voting down procedural actions to freeze the House floor and achieve conservative wins. Most recently, multiple members led the push to oust McCarthy.

Members of the Freedom Caucus have expressed growing discontent with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) after he passed a bipartisan funding bill last month. While they froze floor action on another spending measure in protest, Good and other HFC members have so far shown no interest in trying to boot Johnson.

With spending deadlines approaching in late January and early February, Good will have a key role in influencing the caucus stance over funding. The House GOP’s narrow majority means that Johnson can only afford to lose a handful of votes on any given bill, giving the roughly three dozen members of the Freedom Caucus’s significant sway.