The conservative House Freedom Caucus voted Monday night to expel Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, from its caucus after he endorsed a primary challenger to the group’s chairman, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va.
Members of the group and sources familiar with the matter told The Hill that the conservative coalition voted 16-13 in a closed-door meeting to remove Davidson from the caucus, which is made up of roughly 30 hardline Republicans.
Asked about his firing after the meeting, Davidson told reporters: “I can’t comment on this matter.”
Mr. Davidson drew the ire of conservatives when he endorsed Mr. Good’s challenger, John Maguire, in the Republican primary for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District — an unusual move for a Liberal to run against a fellow party member. Mr. Maguire won by 0.6 percentage points, but Mr. Good has vowed to force a recount.
Monday night’s vote caused immediate reactions within the Freedom Caucus. Shortly after the meeting ended, Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) announced he was leaving the group in response to Davidson’s firing.
“I respect HFC and have always been aligned with their conservative positions. I would like to grow the organization and include more members. Tonight’s vote made it clear that this is not their goal. I can assure you that I value what HFC brings to the table and will continue to support their conservative policies, but I will not be a member,” Davidson said in a statement to The Hill.
A second source told The Hill that Neels has barely attended any meetings over the past year.
Asked for comment on the membership news Monday night, a Freedom Caucus spokesperson said, “HFC does not comment on membership or internal processes.”
Davidson’s expulsion from the group came nearly two weeks after lawmakers voted to reconsider his position with the group following his endorsement of McGuire, an Ohio Republican.
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) made a motion to have the Freedom Caucus board determine whether Davidson is a full member, and the group voted to send it to the board.
The board ultimately determined that Davidson was not a full member and lowered the threshold for removal from 80 percent to a simple majority, a source familiar with the matter told The Hill.
Davidson’s expulsion from the Freedom Caucus marks the end of a sometimes contentious relationship between him and the group.
Davidson, an Ohio Republican, announced in December that he would not seek reelection to the Freedom Caucus board after the caucus recommended Good as its next chairman. “I ask that you prayerfully consider electing someone else as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus,” Davidson wrote to colleagues at the time.
“I want us to look at how we can maximise our influence whilst retaining our ability to steer policy in the right direction. I feel strongly that having Bob Good as chairman would undermine that purpose,” he added. Axios.
Davidson is the third member to be expelled from the Freedom Caucus this Congress, which last summer expelled Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from its caucus after she became close to Republican leaders and voted to remove former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) from the House just days before he retired.
A Freedom Caucus member, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal changes, told The Hill at the time that Buck was not a “member in good standing,” had not regularly attended the group’s meetings “for several months,” had “not sided with conservatives on several key issues,” and was “leaving the conference with historically narrow margins.”
Emily Brooks contributed.
Story updated at 11:08 p.m. EDT
