EXCLUSIVE: New House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) wants to focus on two key issues for the rest of the year: government funding and the rules for next year's House Republican conference.
“I've been with the Freedom Caucus really since the beginning,” Harris told Fox News Digital on Tuesday night in her first interview since being elected chair of the ultra-conservative group.
“I've seen all of our committee chairs do a great job pushing conservative policies forward in Congress and to the American people. And now our big fight is restraining spending. It's going to be a question of what the rules are in the next Congress.”
“I'm going to roll up my sleeves and fight on both of these issues,” Harris promised.
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Andy Harris elected as next House of Representatives Liberal Caucus Chair (Getty Images)
The Maryland Republican, first elected in 2010, was chosen to lead the Freedom Caucus for the remainder of the year after Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., retired from the position after losing the June primary to another Republican.
Harris is known for not being particularly talkative with reporters on Capitol Hill, so his choice to replace a group that keeps even its membership list private is understandable.
The Freedom Caucus has long been seen as a thorn in the side of House Republican leadership, pressuring them to further conservative policies in Congress.
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But Harris praised House Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership on the government budget ahead of a vote Wednesday on a shutdown-avoidance plan backed by the Freedom Caucus.
The plan would extend this year's federal funding, known as a continuing resolution (CR), by six months to give lawmakers time to debate priorities for fiscal year 2025 and would include a measure to require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.
Rep. Bob Good recently retired as speaker. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“The leadership he's shown on this issue is incredible,” Harris said. “If this debate had been happening a month ago and someone had suggested that Chairman Johnson would bring a six-month CR to Congress and then add the (Saving American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act) on top of it, I don't think most people would have believed it.”
But the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House say the bill is unworkable.
Harris did not say how conservatives would get Johnson to stick to his plan, even though several Republicans have publicly opposed the bill out of concern that he would not fight for it if the SAVE Act fails in the Senate.
“If it fails, you can cross that bridge when the time comes,” he said.
But Harris urged Republican critics to “reconsider” the bill ahead of Wednesday's vote.
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“I hope that they'll reconsider it before tomorrow and realize that this is an important message to send to the American people,” Harris said. “I would love to hear Chuck Schumer say, 'Well, we're going to veto it because we want to give illegal immigrants the right to vote.'”
The Maryland Republican similarly did not offer details about what changes he would like to make to the House Republican Conference rules, but the issue is expected to be central to the party's leadership election at the end of the year.
Harris praised House Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership in the fight over government funding. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) agreed to change certain conference rules in an attempt to appease critics after House Republicans gained a majority in the 2022 midterm elections.
Most notably, it lowered the threshold for initiating a vote to remove the Speaker (known as a motion to vacate the Speaker position) from a simple majority to just one vote.
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“I am hopeful that next year's Republican majority will be wise enough to not only adopt and approve all the reforms we made this term, but also make some more. You'll see those reforms discussed more clearly over the next two months.”
When pressed for details, Harris noted that there were other members of the group besides herself.
“That depends on the opinion of the Freedom Caucus,” Harris said. “I'm the chair, but I don't speak for all of the senators.”
