Freedom Caucus members to huddle with Trump

A group of members of the House Freedom Caucus will meet with former President Trump at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club next week. 

The group of Republicans, known for its confrontational tactics and willingness to criticize House GOP leadership, will “discuss its continued efforts to defeat the Democrats’ radical socialist agenda, and advance conservative America First policies,” House Freedom Caucus spokesperson Melissa Braid said in a statement.

Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-Pa.) will attend, his office confirmed. Politico, which first reported the meeting that is expected on Tuesday, said Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), the former caucus chairman, are also set to be there. Those offices did not respond to requests for comment.

The members will huddle with the former president just days before the House committee investigating the Jann. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol holds its first public meeting on Thursday evening.

Several Freedom Caucus members have come under scrutiny by the Jan. 6 committee, which issued subpoenas last month to Perry, Biggs, and Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mo Brooks (R-Ala.). In a letter this week, the committee extended the deadline for Jordan to comply to June 11.

Trump’s relationship with the Freedom Caucus evolved over his four years in office from butting heads to close allies.

In 2017, Trump named Jordan and then-Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) in angry tweets because they opposed then-Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) GOP health care plan, which failed just two months into his term. The president had threatened primary challenges to Freedom Caucus members over their refusal to get on board.

By the end of his term, Meadows was White House chief of staff and Trump awarded Jordan the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The group now includes some of Trump’s strongest allies in Congress, including first-term Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.).