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Join Telegram ChannelEXCLUSIVE:New House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., wants to focus on two key issues for the remainder of this year: government funding and the rules for next year's House Republican conference.
“I’ve been a member of the Freedom Caucus, really, since the beginning,” Harris told Fox News Digital Tuesday night, in her first interview since being elected chair of the ultra-conservative group.
“I've seen all of our presidents do a great job of advancing the conservative agenda with Congress and the American people. And right now, our big fight is going to be about spending control. It's going to be about what the rules are going to be for the next Congress.”
Harris promised: “I'm going to roll up my sleeves and fight both of these issues.”
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Rep. Andy Harris has been selected as the next chair of the House Freedom Caucus. (Getty Images)
The Maryland Republican, first elected in 2010, was tapped to lead the Freedom Caucus for the remainder of the year after Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., stepped down following his primary loss in June to another Republican.
Harris is not known for being particularly chatty with reporters on Capitol Hill, making him an understandable successor for a group that keeps even its membership list secret.
The Freedom Caucus has also long been seen as a thorn in the side of House Republican leaders, pushing them to do more to promote conservative policies in Congress.
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Harris, however, praised House Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership on government funding ahead of a vote Wednesday on a plan backed by the Freedom Caucus to avoid a government shutdown.
The plan involves a six-month extension of this year's federal funds, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to give lawmakers more time to set priorities for fiscal year 2025, coupled with a measure requiring proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.
Rep. Bob Good recently stepped down as Speaker (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“The leadership he’s shown on this issue has been excellent,” Harris said. “I think if we had had this discussion a month ago and someone had suggested that President Johnson was going to bring a six-month CR to the House, and, oh, by the way, we were adding the six-month CR to the House, we could have done that.” [Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act] inside – most people wouldn't believe it.
But the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House said the bill was doomed to fail.
Harris would not say how conservatives might force Johnson to stick to the plan, though several Republicans have publicly opposed the measure, fearing the president would not fight for the SAVE Act if it were rejected by the Senate.
“If that fails, we'll cross that bridge when we get there,” he said.
Harris, however, urged GOP critics to “take another look” at the bill before Wednesday's vote.
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“I hope they think twice before tomorrow and realize that this is an important signal that is going to be sent to the American people,” Harris said. “I would love to hear the argument that Chuck Schumer is going to make to say, ‘Yeah, you know, we’re going to reject this because we want illegal immigrants to vote.’”
The Maryland Republican also declined to get into specifics about what changes he would like to see to the House Republican conference rules — though the issue is expected to take center stage in the party's year-end leadership elections.
Harris praised House Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership in the fight for government funding (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, agreed to change some conference rules to win over his critics after House Republicans won a majority in the 2022 midterm elections.
This included lowering the threshold for triggering a vote on the ouster of the Speaker of the House – known as a motion to vacate the seat – from a simple majority to just one vote.
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“I hope that in its wisdom, the Republican majority next year – and I believe there will be a Republican majority – will not only adopt and approve all the changes that we have made this quarter, but perhaps make others. Those changes will be discussed more prominently over the next couple of months.”
Pressed for more details, Harris noted that there were other members of the group besides himself.
“It depends on what the Freedom Caucus says,” Harris said. “I’m the chairman, but I’m not all the members.”