Freshman Rep. Ken Buck is now the latest conservative member to face retribution from House Republican leadership, as his fellow freshman lawmakers will gather tomorrow to decide if he will remain freshman class president.
Buck, of Colorado, joins a growing number of conservatives who have been punished by the party’s top leaders for bucking the party line and voting against a routine procedural rule on Trade Promotion Authority last week.
The Colorado conservative was elected by the freshman class unanimously last year, though he didn’t have a challenger.
Late Tuesday night, chiefs of staff—including Buck’s—received an email from Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Mimi Walters, R-Calif., calling a meeting of freshman lawmakers. The topic of the meeting was not disclosed. However, Walters told The Hill it concerned the leadership of the freshman class.
“A majority of the freshman class has expressed concerns I share regarding the leadership of our class president,” she said in a statement. “In addition to regular business, tomorrow we will also be discussing the direction of future leadership.”
Katherine Rosario, Buck’s spokeswoman, told The Daily Signal the gathering could result in the Colorado Republican’s removal from his post as freshman class president.
Leadership cannot explicitly remove Buck from the role, as freshman members instead would have to vote for a successor. However, Rosario said it appears the effort is organized by Walters, a liaison to House Speaker John Boehner and one of his allies.
Buck was asked to resign, but declined.
Several conservatives have been approached by House leadership after failing to toe the party line on last week’s procedural vote.
>>> GOP Leadership Threatens Other Conservative Chairman as Punishment for Trade Vote
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., lost his chairmanship of the Government Operations subcommittee, and a number of other subcommittee chairmen have also been approached by their full committee leaders, where the subject of their votes came up.
Additionally, three Republicans—Reps. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Trent Franks of Arizona and Steve Pearce of New Mexico—were booted from the GOP whip team for their vote on the rule.
House Republican leadership’s actions, which Meadows said has created a “culture of punishment,” is angering conservatives. The House Freedom Caucus, a group of more than 30 conservative members, is working on a plan to respond.
Many conservative members feel their party’s leaders are asking them to vote against their principles and conscience, which they disagree with.
Conservatives’ disapproval of leadership isn’t confined to the House anymore. On Wednesday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz spoke out against top Republicans’ actions during a speech at The Heritage Foundation.
Cruz criticized Republican leadership for using conservatives across the country to get Republicans elected, but ignoring their wishes when it comes to passing legislation.
“Why is it that Republican leadership always, always, always cuts deals with the Democrats and with Washington, and throws overboard the conservatives that come October to November in an election year they are desperately asking to turn out and elect them in power?” the Republican senator asked. “The Washington cartel has amassed more and more power at the expense of the American taxpayer.
During his speech, Cruz went on to call out lawmakers who open their “ears and wallets” to the “highest bidder” when legislation is set to be introduced, and favor the interests of lobbyists over their constituents.
“Corrupt backroom deals result in one interest group getting preferences over the other, although you give the other a chance to outbid them, or even worse, a very, very small interest group getting special carve outs at the expense of taxpayers,” he continued. “And those who don’t oblige, well they are shunned by the cartel, effectively locked out.”
>>> Mark Meadows to Fight GOP House Leadership: ‘Sometimes You Have to Make Changes to the Coach’