documenting specific elements of the Senate-backed legislation that the caucus found offensive. Politico reported soon after:

Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, said he was opposed to the Senate-passed version of the GOP megabill and called on Trump to order senators back to town for further negotiations. ... Harris told reporters he did not expect the votes on the rule to succeed until it’s brought back closer to the House version.

The Freedom Caucus chair added, “There’s a little work left to be done, but if the president calls the Senate back in town, we should be able to do it.”...

But as striking as it was to see the Freedom Caucus fall in line, just as important was the familiarity of the circumstances.

In January, House Freedom Caucus members said they were prepared to derail Johnson’s bid for a second term with the gavel, and then they caved.

In March, House Freedom Caucus members said they were opposed to a stopgap spending measure (known as a continuing resolution, or CR) needed to prevent a shutdown, and then they caved.

In April, House Freedom Caucus members slammed their party’s budget resolution, and then caved.

In May, House Freedom Caucus members railed against their party’s reconciliation package, and then they caved.

And in July, House Freedom Caucus members condemned the Senate’s version of the GOP megabill, and then caved.
As a recent Washington Post analysis summarized:

Each threat from leaders of the House Freedom Caucus ended with the same result: capitulation. After caving on each round of threats, these far-right conservatives vowed that the next time would be different — if their demands were not met precisely as they sought. This collection of several dozen Republicans, after a decade of rabble-rousing that helped push aside three other speakers, has yet to fully buck Johnson ... on any major initiative this year.

That was published in early April. Three months later, it’s still accurate.....

That, however, was before Trump became president and started telling them to roll over. In 2025, the attack dogs have become obedient lapdogs, whose barks are worse than their bites.