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\n

The House Freedom Caucus is suddenly confronting an unsettled future<\/u><\/a> after more than a decade at the center of GOP politics on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n

Some of its most prominent members are leaving Congress next year after seeking higher office, including former chair Rep. Andy Biggs and several media-friendly voices like Reps. Chip Roy, Byron Donalds and Ralph Norman. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the group\u2019s current chair, Rep. Andy Harris, is term-limited.<\/p>\n

Who will step in to fill the shuffling ranks and maintain the caucus\u2019 role as a hard-right vanguard is very much in question \u2014 especially as the group faces a potential shift to a Democratic House majority, which has historically made them less pivotal, and the looming transition to a Republican Party without a President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

The group \u2014 which is no stranger to reinventing itself \u2014 has a number of relatively unknown members ready to become the new faces of the hard right in the House.<\/p>\n

\u2014 ERIC BURLISON:<\/b> The second-term Missouri congressman and current HFC board member said he is considering running to be the next chair.<\/p>\n

Last summer he was a vocal member demanding the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and has become a leading Republican pushing for more information on UFOs.<\/p>\n

\u2014 ANDREW CLYDE:<\/b> Another board member, Clyde has amassed significant power by Freedom Caucus standards by winning seats on the Appropriations and Budget panels.<\/p>\n

He said in an interview he had not yet thought about running for chair but noted that \u201cyou don\u2019t have to be the chairman to have outsized influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 BRANDON GILL: <\/b>This Texas freshman, the youngest sitting House Republican, is already seen as a rising star in the House GOP.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s made a name for himself through provocative social media posts and splashy legislative moves, such as seeking to impeach James Boasberg, the federal judge who ruled against some of Trump\u2019s deportations last year.<\/p>\n

Gill has said he wants to emulate Rep. Jim Jordan, the only founding member of the caucus still serving in the chamber.<\/p>\n

\u2014 CLAY HIGGINS:<\/b> Another board member and a more senior member of the group, Higgins said he has not ruled out seeking the chair post but is also \u201cnot interested in campaigning\u201d for the job.<\/p>\n

Higgins was the only lawmaker to oppose the release of the Epstein files. He said in an interview he\u2019s hoping the group focuses more on policymaking in its next iteration rather than obstructing leadership prerogatives.<\/p>\n

\u2014 ANDY OGLES:<\/b> Inside the HFC, Ogles has emerged as a serious force over two terms, with his name floated for chair even before the end of his first term.<\/p>\n

He also did not rule out running for chair or another caucus leadership position in a recent interview.<\/p>\n

What else we\u2019re watching:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 THUNE RACES TO BREAK SPY POWERS LOGJAM:<\/b> Senate Majority Leader John Thune is racing to try to confirm the next director of national intelligence and end a stand off over extending a key surveillance power before members break for two weeks. The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing for Jay Clayton Wednesday \u2014 less than a week after the chamber formally received the nomination from the White House. Getting Clayton confirmed is a crucial step to unlocking Congress\u2019 willingness to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. <\/p>\n

\u2014 ANTI-FRAUD OPTIONS FOR RECONCILIATION 3.0:\u00a0<\/b>Republican leaders say proposals to crack down on fraud in federal safety net programs could be included in another reconciliation package this year. Turns out, a menu of options is developing in plain sight: Just look at the stack of about a dozen bills the House has passed in recent weeks to prevent waste and abuse.<\/p>\n

Jordain Carney and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The House Freedom Caucus is suddenly confronting an unsettled future after more than a decade at the center of GOP politics on Capitol Hill. Some of its most prominent members are leaving Congress next year after seeking higher office, including former chair Rep. Andy Biggs and several media-friendly voices like Reps. Chip Roy, Byron Donalds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24324\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}