The House Liberty Caucus was a

congressional caucus A congressional caucus is a group of members of the United States Congress that meet to pursue common legislative objectives. Formally, caucuses are formed as congressional member organizations (CMOs) through the United States House of Represent ...

consisting of

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's enc ...

, and libertarian conservative members of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

. It hosted a bimonthly luncheon in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

The group was founded by Rep.

Justin Amash Justin Amash ( ; born April 18, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. Originally a Republican, Amash joined the Libertarian Party in April 2020, becoming the party's first (and ...

of Michigan and joined by Republican members who wanted to "focus on specific issues like

economic freedom Economic freedom, or economic liberty, is the ability of people of a society to take economic actions. This is a term used in economic and policy debates as well as in the philosophy of economics. One approach to economic freedom comes from the li ...

individual liberty Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

, and following the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princi ...

". During his time in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, Jared Polis of Colorado was the only Democratic member of the caucus. The caucus was characterized as "conservative with a libertarian emphasis" and was associated with the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget deficit ...

. When the

117th Congress The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...

convened, there was not new leadership.

History

Prior to the formal creation of the House Liberty Caucus, Rep.

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

hosted a luncheon in Washington, D.C. every Thursday for a group of Republican members of the House of Representatives that he called the Liberty Caucus. The group was closely connected to the political action committee known as the

Republican Liberty Caucus The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is a political action organization dedicated to promoting the ideals of individual liberty, limited government and free market economics within the Republican Party in the United States. It is part of the lib ...

and "support d

individual rights Group rights, also known as collective rights, are rights held by a group '' qua'' a group rather than individually by its members; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people; even if they are group-differentiated, which ...

, limited government and

free enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

". After the 112th Congress began and Ron Paul switched his focus to his presidential campaign, his luncheon was replaced by a formal

congressional member organization A congressional caucus is a group of members of the United States Congress that meet to pursue common legislative objectives. Formally, caucuses are formed as congressional member organizations (CMOs) through the United States House of Represent ...

called the House Liberty Caucus and chaired by

. In June 2014, the caucus supported

Raúl Labrador Raúl Rafael Labrador (born December 8, 1967) is an American lawyer and politician who is the Attorney General-elect of Idaho. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the Idaho Republican Party from 2019 to 2020 and served as the U.S. Repre ...

's campaign for House Majority Leader.

Members

Current Members: *

Andy Biggs Andrew Steven Biggs (born November 7, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who represents in the United States House of Representatives. The district, which was once represented by U.S. Senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, is in the he ...

of Arizona *

Warren Davidson Warren Earl Davidson (born March 1, 1970) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 8th congressional district since 2016. The district, which was once represented by House Speaker Joh ...

of Ohio *

Paul Gosar Paul Anthony Gosar ( ; born November 27, 1958) is an American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * politician and former dentist who has been the U.S. representative for since 2013. A Republican, he was elected in 2010 to represent the neighbori ...

of Arizona"Congrats to my friendand the lone Democratic member of the @libertycaucus@jaredpolis on his big primary win for governor of Colorado!"
*

Morgan Griffith Howard Morgan Griffith (born March 15, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who has been the U.S. representative for Virginia's 9th congressional district since 2011. The district covers a large swath of southwestern Virginia, including the ...

of Virginia *

Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he is a two-tim ...

of Ohio *

Thomas Massie Thomas Harold Massie (born January 13, 1971) is an American politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, Massie has been the United States representative for Kentucky's 4th congressional district since 2012, when he defeated Bi ...

of Kentucky *

Cathy McMorris Rodgers Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers (born May 22, 1969) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , which encompasses the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, the state's second-largest city. A Republican, McMorris Rodge ...

of Washington * Scott Perry of Pennsylvania *

Tim Walberg Timothy Lee Walberg (born April 12, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the from 2007 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2023. Early life, educa ...

of Michigan Former Members: *

of Michigan – retired in 2020 *

Kerry Bentivolio Kerry Bentivolio (born October 6, 1951) is an American politician and educator who is the former United States Representative for , in office from 2013 to 2015. Bentivolio, a Republican, defeated Democratic nominee Syed Taj, a physician, in t ...

of Michigan – lost renomination in 2014 *

Paul Broun Paul Collins Broun Jr. (born May 14, 1946) is an American physician and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a member of the Tea Party Caucus. Broun unsuccess ...

of Georgia – ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2014 *

Jason Chaffetz Jason E. Chaffetz (; born March 26, 1967) is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until his resignation in 2017. He chaired the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 until 2017. Ch ...

of Utah - resigned in 2017 * Curt Clawson of Florida – retired in 2016 *

Scott Garrett Ernest Scott Garrett (born July 9, 1959) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for , serving from 2003 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1990 to 20 ...

of New Jersey – defeated in 2016 general election *

Tom Graves John Thomas Graves Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2020. Graves previously served one term as the U.S. representative for from 2010 to 2013, followin ...

of Georgia - resigned in 2020 *

Vicky Hartzler Vicky Jo Hartzler (née Zellmer; born October 13, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the Missouri state representative for the 124th district from ...

of Missouri – running for the

2022 United States Senate election in Missouri The 2022 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 8, 2022, concurrently with elections for all other Class 3 U.S. senators and elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, to select a member of the United States Senat ...

Tim Huelskamp Timothy Alan Huelskamp (; born November 11, 1968) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2017. Huelskamp, a member of the Republican Party, was rated the least bipartisan member of the House during the 114th ...

of Kansas – lost renomination in 2016 * Walter Jones of North Carolina – passed away 2019 *

Cynthia Lummis Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn ( ; born September 10, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Wyoming since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Lummis served as the U.S representative ...

of Wyoming – retired from the House in 2016 *

Mick Mulvaney John Michael Mulvaney (born July 21, 1967) is an American politician who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from February 2017 until March 2020, and as acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 until March ...

of South Carolina – appointed as Director of the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, poli ...

in 2017 * Jared Polis of Colorado (Democrat) – ran successfully for

2018 Colorado gubernatorial election The 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next and the 43rd Governor of Colorado. Incumbent Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper was term-limited and could not seek reelection to a third consecutiv ...

, currently Governor of Colorado. Polis was the only Democratic member of the Liberty Caucus. * Matt Salmon of Arizona – retired in 2016 *

Steve Stockman Stephen Ernest Stockman (born November 14, 1956) is an American politician who is a member of the Republican Party and a convicted felon. He served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 9th congressional district from 1995 to 1997 and for Texa ...

of Texas – ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2014 *

Marlin Stutzman Marlin Andrew Stutzman (born August 31, 1976) is an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Indiana's 3rd congressional district, from 2010 to 2017. A Republican, Stutzman previously served ...

of Indiana – ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2016 *

Rob Woodall William Robert Woodall III (born February 11, 1970) is an American attorney and politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. The district included most of Gwinnett County, a suburban county northeast of Atlanta. A Republi ...

of Georgia - retired in 2020

References

External links

House Liberty Caucus
{{USCongress Ideological caucuses of the United States Congress Political organizations based in the United States Republican Party (United States) 2011 in American politics Republican Party (United States) organizations Libertarian organizations based in the United States Factions in the Republican Party (United States) Tea Party movement Conservative organizations in the United States 2011 establishments in Washington, D.C.

History

Members

See also

References

External links