Freedom Caucus foes welcome likely ouster of ‘toxic’ Bob Good – Washington Examiner

Enemies of Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-VA) are readying for the likely ouster of the Virginia Republican, openly sharing their disdain of his reputation and leadership.

Good is locked in a close fight for his reelection against Republican state Sen. John McGuire that has been deemed too close to call by the Associated Press and is poised for a recount after the results are certified next week. However, McGuire and the leader of the Virginia Republican Party have already declared the state senator as the winner, dealing a blow to the two-term incumbent.

Good has only been the leader of the Freedom Caucus since January, but for some House Republicans, his possible exit from Congress is a welcome development.

“Bob Good is one of the most toxic people in Congress. And he’s carrying that level of toxicity back home,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told the Washington Examiner.

Good crossed many of his GOP colleagues for his reputation of encouraging other hard-line conservatives to vote against legislation — even bills introduced by his own party. He has also routinely vowed to vote against must-pass spending legislation, going so far as to threaten government shutdowns to make a point if certain demands are not met.

“They have eyes to see and ears to hear. And what some of these people are going to hear is the door hitting Bob Good in the a**. It’s time for him to go,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), who campaigned alongside McGuire during the primary cycle. “The reason being is this: If you have someone on your team who is cutting the laces on your combat boots before you went on a mission, you get rid of them.”

Good has especially drawn the ire of Greene after she was kicked out of the Freedom Caucus last year, a decision she said spurred her to endorse the chairman’s primary challenger.

“I used to be a really proud Freedom Caucus member. But ever since Bob Good and a few others have basically infected the Freedom Caucus — their principles are so misguided, they’re not being conservative,” Greene said. “They’re not really fighting for America First or for even constitutional principles. They’re mostly just fighting against leadership to fight against leadership. Because that’s their identity: Fighting against leadership.”

“If the Freedom Caucus is going to continue,” she added, “I think they’ve got a bit of an identity crisis to figure out, and they need to figure out who they are.”

Tensions among the group became even more intensified last week when Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) endorsed McGuire, making him the only member of the Freedom Caucus to turn against the chairman. That endorsement has reportedly prompted discussions of whether to oust Davidson from their ranks, according to Semafor.

However, Davidson rejected the idea that the primary endorsement was a Freedom Caucus vs. “the Swamp” endeavor. Instead, he said his endorsement was solely about the “men on the ballot” rather than any proxy war of factions in the Republican Party.

“As a longstanding member and former board member of the House Freedom Caucus, my endorsement of John McGuire should convey the opposite message. This Congressional race was never about the Freedom Caucus,” Davidson said in a statement posted on X. “I hope my endorsement for John McGuire made a difference and I look forward to serving alongside him in the 119th Congress to support  President Trump’s efforts to Drain the Swamp.”

The Freedom Caucus was first formed in 2015 by a group of conservative lawmakers looking to establish themselves as “smaller, more cohesive, more agile, and more active,” according to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who was the chairman at the time of its founding. Caucus members have closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, and the group consists of many of his staunch allies on Capitol Hill.

But that dynamic experienced a slight shift when the caucus elected Good as its newest chairman in January.

Good had also angered Trump when he endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for the GOP presidential nomination last year. Good later switched his endorsement to Trump after DeSantis suspended his campaign, but that wasn’t enough to appease the former president, who endorsed McGuire.

“You can’t have a Freedom Caucus chair that’s against the next president and against President Trump, who’s the leader of our party,” Greene said. “So the Freedom Caucus has got to figure it out.”

But some members of the group say they remain aligned with Trump, even with Good in the top leadership position.

“We’re aligned with Trump. We’re all behind him. Bob is behind him,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) told the Washington Examiner. “The fact that Bob apparently didn’t win the election, that [doesn’t] change it … That’s one election out of many.”

When asked if Good’s possible ouster from the House might prompt Freedom Caucus members to change how they operate or soften their tactics against leadership, Norman said no.

“Not at all. Look, we’re here to save the country. We’re here for conservatism,” he said. “And the Freedom Caucus is on the forefront of trying to prevent that.”

The primary race for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District is set to be certified by the state party Tuesday. Under state rules, Good has the option to request a recount because the margin of victory is under 1 percentage point. As of Monday, McGuire led Good by just 0.6 points.

Because the margin is higher than 0.5 points, Good will need to pay for the recount himself, which the caucus chairman said he has the funds to do. Good began soliciting funds from supporters earlier this week to pay for the recount.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“We just want an accurate reflection of the intent of the voters who legitimately and legally participated. Everybody should want that,” Good told reporters Tuesday. “We’re going to do what we can to pursue that. And we’ll respect that when that does happen.”

If Good loses, he will become one of only two House incumbents to lose their primary elections so far this year. Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) lost his primary challenge Tuesday.