The House Freedom Caucus voted to remove Rep. Warren Davidson and saw another member depart from the conservative collective in response.
Mr. Davidson, Ohio Republican, was voted out of the Freedom Caucus in a closed-door meeting Monday following his unprecedented endorsement of House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good’s primary challenger, Virginia state Sen. John McGuire, last month.
Mr. McGuire won the Old Dominion’s primary by less than 400 votes against Mr. Good, who wants a recount.
Mr. Davidson was the first member of the Freedom Caucus to back the opponent of a sitting chairman, a move he argued was about “the men on the ballot.” Following his ouster, the lawmaker said he was “not happy, but very content.”
“Congress will soon be a better place without Bob Good, as will Freedom Caucus,” Mr. Davidson said on X.
“I am disappointed that some HFC members (a very narrow majority of those present) viewed my opposition to Bob and support for John McGuire as an attack on them or the group,” he continued. “While that was not my intent, their opposition to me was intended. Nevertheless, God is good, and real friendships mend.”
A spokesperson for the Freedom Caucus told The Washington Times that the group “does not comment on membership or internal processes.”
Mr. Davidson and Mr. Good have had a rocky relationship since December, when the Ohioan questioned in a letter to his Freedom Caucus colleagues whether Mr. Good would make a good leader for the bloc.
He believed that if the Freedom Caucus’ goal was to boost influence and push conservative policies, Mr. Good would “impair that objective.”
Mr. Davidson’s ouster prompted Rep. Troy Nehls, Texas Republican, to exit the group. Mr. Nehls told USA Today that he didn’t believe Mr. Davidson’s removal was “the direction our organization should take.”
Mr. Davidson is the third member to be removed from the caucus in the past year after the ouster of Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene and Colorado’s Ken Buck.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.