Members of the House Freedom Caucus are out with a wish list of priorities they want GOP leaders to accomplish before the party loses its governing trifecta in January.
“In the two months remaining in the 119th Congress, we have an enormous amount of unfinished business to preserve and protect the Republic from an incoming majority party hell-bent on radically changing it,” the board for the conservative group wrote Monday in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune
The goal, members said, was to “deny” Democrats “every legislative leverage point possible” ahead of their takeover of Congress next year.
They added, “Let’s hold the line and finish the work.”
The Freedom Caucus is calling on leaders to push through legislation to “codify” President Donald Trump’s border security policies and strengthen voter ID laws in federal elections. The group also wants a government funding package that holds federal spending at existing levels — or appropriations bills without additional policy provisions.
And members said they wanted Republicans to push ahead with a final party-line package that would focus on modernizing U.S. defense systems and providing "significant tax relief for families” — with $1 trillion in spending reductions to offset it.
“Some of us called for action after our first reconciliation package to continue to move to support the American people,” the group wrote. “Unfortunately, the agenda stalled, and now we will no longer have the majority in the next Congress. We respectfully request that we take action in the next 60 days to protect the citizens we represent.”
In the board’s letter, members demanded “a robust permitting bill,” though did not specify if the Freedom Caucus would support a bipartisan bill brokered with the White House that will get its first procedural vote in the Senate on Monday night. They are also urging the Senate to confirm as many of Trump’s nominees as possible.
The letter also highlighted some priorities where they could get Democratic buy-in. One of those areas is expanding a ban on stock trading to the executive and judicial branches.
“We request that we not leave town until we accomplish these objectives,” the members said.
