How the House Freedom Caucus Changed

Mick Mulvaney talked to Puck about the founding of the House Freedom Caucus.

Said Mulvaney: “Keep in mind it was supposed to be the reasonable wing of the Tea Party movement. There were folks we didn’t let in. We didn’t let Louie Gohmert in because he was too crazy. We didn’t let Steve King in because he was too crazy. We were looking for the folks who had the discernment to sort of understand strategy, maybe vote yes, maybe vote no, depending upon what the long-term plan was, that was the whole purpose. And we did it with an eye towards spending, that’s what really drove us—spending.”

He added: “The Freedom Caucus changed under Donald Trump and sort of became the cheerleader wing in the House for Donald Trump. A lot of what Trump stood for was consistent with the Freedom Caucus, but certainly the spending wasn’t. Donald Trump spent a lot more money. Thanks in large part to Paul Ryan’s control of the House, we had to spend a lot more money than the Freedom Caucus would have voted for if somebody else was president.”