In the U.S. Congress, there are 461 “support a cause” caucuses for members to join, ranging from the Appalachian National Scenic Trail Caucus to the Zoo and Aquarium Caucus.
Most are so little known; one would be challenged to name five without a search on Google.
One that is well known is the House Republican Freedom Caucus, based on their historical adversarial relationship with the House Republican Caucus, aka the Republican Conference.
The Freedom Caucus is deeply committed to a conservative approach on public policy issues.
It is a force to be reckoned with within the House Republican Conference based on the fact that the conference has a thin majority requiring almost unanimous party unity to pass bills.
Since late last year, the House Freedom Caucus chair has been Congressman Andy Harris.
Harris replaced former Republican Congressman Bob Good, who narrowly lost a bid for re-election in a primary election to a challenger endorsed by President Trump.
Good had a well-deserved reputation as a dogmatic “my way or the highway” legislator.
Like Good, Harris has a strong commitment to the House Freedom Caucus principles.
Unlike Good, Harris has demonstrated a leadership style reminiscent of former Republican U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen.
Dirksen was a 36-year member of Congress who served for 10 years as Senate Minority Leader.
Like Harris is now, Dirksen then was a strong advocate for conservative fiscal principles, especially on federal government spending and the national debt.
Dirksen was also a pragmatic legislator who understood success in the legislative arena requires practicing the art of the possible, in other words, pursuing accomplishments that may be achieved, rather than pursuing accomplishments that can never be achieved.
Dirksen summed it up perfectly when he said, “I am a man of principles, and one of them is flexibility.”
To date, Harris has used the Dirksen philosophy in his leadership of the Freedom Caucus.
Following his election as caucus chair, Harris said, “The best way to advance the conservative agenda is to not be constantly viewed as an obstacle.”
After a relatively orderly election of Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House, Harris said, “That was an example of how I think we should operate, which is to actually come to an agreement — because, you know, we are reasonable people. Come to an agreement. They’re not going to be perfect for everybody, but they’re going to move us in the right direction.”
That approach has not gone unnoticed by Congressman Dustin Johnson, chair of the House Republicans Main Street Caucus, a caucus whose members have more moderate views than members of the Freedom Caucus.
Congressman Johnson has observed that he “loves working with Andy Harris.”
He also has observed that Harris’s predecessor (former Congressman Good), was “a more difficult personality to get to ‘yes.’”
A recent example of Andy’s leadership philosophy was in full flight was his role in securing support from the Freedom Caucus members in the House for H.R. 1, a top legislative priority of the Trump administration and described by Trump as a “big, beautiful bill.”
After a great deal of contentious debate within the Republican Conference, H.B.1 was approved in the full House by a one-vote margin (215 yes votes and 214 no votes).
Every Republican House member who voted on H.R. 1 voted yes with only two exceptions and every Democratic House member who voted on H.R. 1 voted no.
Neither of the two Republicans who voted no are members of the Freedom Caucus.
In a move that was somewhat surprising, Harris voted present.
In a social media post after the vote, he wrote that he did so “to move the bill along in the process.”
With regard to moving the bill along, there is no certainty when or even if H.R 1 will make its way to President Trump for signature into law.
There are already indications members of the Republican majority in the Senate may pursue significant revisions to H.R. 1, and there are rumblings from the Republican majority in the House that anything less than minor Senate changes will result in pushback from the House.
One thing that is certain so far is that as House Freedom Caucus chair, Harris has had measurable success to date with the following leadership strategies:
“The best way to advance the conservative agenda is to not be constantly viewed as an obstacle.”
“Come to agreements. They’re not going to be perfect for everybody, but they’re going to move us in the right direction.”
Those strategies should guide future dialogue, deliberation, and decisions by the Republican leadership in the House and the Senate.
David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant who lives in Easton.
Chris Gordon says
I hope Mr. Harris continues to refrain from voting. But since I am, according to his great hero, just another America hating scum, I choose not to follow his example and will be voting.
Jamie Kirkpatrick says
Andy Harris is an embarrassment to this district.
Martha Rasin says
1. I note this pro-Harris piece was written by David Reel, “a public affairs and public relations consultant who lives in Easton.” I wonder how he might be a Harris paid advocate.
2. I highly recommend reading “Meet the Congressman Who is Viktor Orban’s Biggest Fanboy” (https://newrepublic.com/article/168327/andy-harris-maryland-congressman-viktor-orban-fanboy)