Poll: Almost half of Americans have never heard of House Freedom Caucus

Nearly half of U.S. adults say they have never heard of the House Freedom Caucus, a new poll finds.

A Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday found that 42 percent said they have heard “nothing at all” about the influential group of conservative lawmakers.

Thirty-nine percent said they have heard “a little” about the caucus, and 19 percent said they have heard “a lot.”

{mosads}The caucus was formed in 2015 and, though it has no public list of members, is believed to include about three dozen House Republicans. It has frequently been a thorn in the side of GOP leadership on healthcare and spending issues.

The group was instrumental in the collapse last month of the GOP’s ObamaCare repeal bill.

GOP leaders yanked the American Health Care Act after it became clear it lacked the support for passage despite President Trump’s vocal backing.

Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said last week that Republicans are nearing an agreement on a new plan to replace ObamaCare.

“We’re very close,” Meadows said. “The biggest thing for all of us is we want to make sure we don’t just have repeal, but we have a replacement that drives down insurance premiums.”

Conservative and moderate Republicans remain deeply divided over the best strategy for healthcare.

The caucus also played a role in pressuring former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to resign in 2015.

Pew surveyed 1,501 U.S. adults via cell and landline telephone interviews April 5-11 with a 2.9 percentage point margin of error.