Del. Matthew Morgan (R-St. Mary’s) will serve as chair of the newly formed Maryland Freedom Caucus. Morgan spoke during a news conference Tuesday at Lawyers’ Mall in Annapolis. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
The most vocal conservatives in the House of Delegates officially announced their intention to form the House Freedom Caucus Tuesday, taking their name and inspiration from a similar group on Capitol Hill that has become a major player in Republican politics over the past decade.
The Maryland House Freedom Caucus is starting off with just seven members, in a chamber with 39 Republicans — but the caucus members are the most pugnacious Republicans in Annapolis, who often take up the most floor time during House legislative debates.
Caucus leaders said they don’t just intend to be provocateurs, but hope to drive policy discussions during the course of this legislative session and beyond, with a package of poll-tested bills that they’ll introduce in the days ahead on topics like immigration and fiscal probity.
“This is not a red agenda, this is not a blue agenda. This is a Maryland agenda,” said Del. Matthew Morgan (R-St. Mary’s), the chair of the new Freedom Caucus.
Maryland is now the 13th state in which Republican legislators have established a Freedom Caucus.
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“We believe there’s a void in conservative leadership in the state,” Morgan said.
House conservatives in Annapolis have been talking about setting up a Freedom Caucus since last year, but the organization has now won official recognition of the State Freedom Caucus Network, an offshoot of the congressional group. Andrew Roth, the president of the network, and U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st), who chairs the congressional Freedom Caucus, were on hand at a news conference on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis Tuesday for the announcement of the new group. Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) also spoke.
In an interview, Morgan said the Maryland caucus will benefit from its affiliation with the national network, and is already seeing resources, policy expertise and legal advice steered its way.
In addition to Morgan, the other caucus members are: Del. Kathy Szeliga (Baltimore County), who will be vice chair; Del. Ryan Nawrocki (Baltimore County), who will be caucus whip; and Dels. Lauren Arikan (Harford), Brian Chisholm (Anne Arundel), Mark N. Fisher (Calvert) and Robin L. Grammer Jr. (Baltimore County).
Morgan said the caucus will recruit other House Republicans to join — but added that membership in the caucus is by invitation only.
The seven initial Freedom Caucus members are generally the most outspoken and caustic Republicans during House floor debates. They routinely push back against Democratic legislative priorities with colorful rhetoric and introduce amendments that rarely gain much traction in a chamber with a Democratic supermajority.
House Majority Leader David Moon (D-Montgomery) said he isn’t sure the creation of a Freedom Caucus is going to change the dynamic in the House, where Democrats hold an overwhelming majority.
“They’ve been operating as an informal Freedom Caucus for some time now,” Moon said. “Their tactics and messaging have been pretty consistent with what we’ve seen from their counterparts on Capitol Hill.”
But on Capitol Hill, with control of the House split by less than a handful of votes, the two dozen or so members of the Freedom Caucus have become increasingly powerful, and they have especially exerted oversized influence within the GOP Caucus on policy, strategy and personnel. Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who was driven from office by criticism from House conservatives, once referred to Freedom Caucus members as “legislative terrorists.”
Nawrocki said the Freedom Caucus hopes to emulate the growth and influence of the caucus on Capitol Hill.
“You start out with a core group of people,” he said.
House Minority Leader Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) said this week he has not been briefed by the Freedom Caucus members about their agenda or intentions.
“It’s a very small group — we don’t view them within the [Republican] caucus as a group, we view them as individuals,” Buckel said. “I don’t know what their plans are fundamentally.”
Buckel said he did not see much daylight between the Freedom Caucus agenda and the beliefs of most House Republicans. But, he conceded, “There’s certainly a difference in tactics and tenor and prioritization.”
Asked to characterize the relationship between the Freedom Caucus and the broader GOP Caucus, Nawrocki replied, “We’re Americans first, we’re Marylanders second, we’re Republicans third.”
In addition to the forthcoming legislation, Morgan said the Freedom Caucus would seek official recognition from House leadership, similar to other caucuses. He also said the caucus would create a political fundraising committee and would not rule out the possibility of taking sides in upcoming Republican primaries.
“I envision being active in elections going forward,” Morgan said.