History
The Freedom Caucus was created in April 2022. [6] [7] As an initiative of the Conservative Partnership Institute, the State Freedom Caucus Network supported the creation of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus. [8] Former U.S. Senator from South Carolina and Chairman of CPI, Jim DeMint, supported the effort. [9] Andrew Roth, President of the State Freedom Caucus Network, said that Columbia (the state's capital city) "has a swamp" and that only a state Freedom Caucus could bring about conservative policies. [9]
In the primary elections leading up to the 2024 State House election, all Freedom Caucus members kept their seat, while others gained the party's nomination by defeating Republicans of the traditional House Republican Caucus, such as former Assistant Majority Leader Jay West. [10] [11] This primary was noted for the "aggressive" and "antagonistic" campaign materials sent to voters by both factions of the state Republican Party: the Freedom Caucus and the more moderate House Republican Caucus. [12]
After the founding Chairman, Adam Morgan, declined to seek re-election in 2024, Jordan Pace assumed the position in July 2024. [13]
Political positions and involvement
Intra-party relationship
The Freedom Caucus, especially in the State House, has a contentious relationship with its Republican colleagues in the House Republican Caucus. Many news outlets refer to the fighting as a "civil war". [14] [15] [10] The Caucus accuses the Republican Caucuses and the majority leadership of being "too slow" to advance conservative policies, like constitutional carry laws or stricter laws regulating abortion, and too willing to compromise with Democrats. [14] [16] DeMint decried the Republican Party for its members not living up to their campaign promises to pursue a traditionally conservative policy agenda. [9] House Republicans in the majority caucus accuse the Freedom Caucus of bringing "Washington antics" to South Carolina and disrupting civil debate in favor of campaigning. [14] [17] Governor Henry McMaster backed mainstream Republicans over Freedom Caucus candidates in the 2024 State House election. [18]
House Democrats, like Heather Bauer (D–Richland), have noted the policy and style differences between Freedom Caucus and Republican Caucus members, calling the Freedom Caucus members "radical". [19]
Near the end of the 2024–25 legislative session, the Caucus was criticized by House leadership for obstructing the passage of several key bills. [20]
During the beginning of the 2025–26 legislative session, the House Freedom Caucus challenged incumbent House Speaker, Murrell Smith (R–Sumter), and nominated Bill Chumley (R–Spartanburg). All 17 members of the Caucus voted for Chumley, while 102 members of the House supported Murrell. [14] [21] [22]
Lawsuit against the State House Ethics Committee
Several Freedom Caucus members refused to sign a pledge against funding challenges to Republican incumbents. State ethics laws prohibited ideologically-based caucuses from funding political operations. [16] In response, the Freedom Caucus filed suit against the House Ethics Committee in February 2023. The Caucus received legal counsel through America First Legal. [23] The Caucus alleged the law violated the First Amendment by restricting speech on the basis of viewpoint. [16] A federal judge ruled in favor of the Caucus, knocking down the prohibition. [24] The House Ethics Committee chairman, Jay Jordan (R–Florence), said the ruling "blasted" the state's ethics law "wide open". [2] [25]
Education
In November 2022, the Caucus filed a lawsuit against Lexington School District One, accusing the District of violating state law by allowing an education nonprofit, EL Education, to train educators on how to infuse race into education. [26] Caucus members released an audio tape allegedly capturing an EL Education employee telling teachers how to circumvent state law on teaching critical race theory. [27] The CEO of EL Education said the Caucus was promoting a "false and crudely edited narrative". [28] The District maintained it did not violate the law, but settled the lawsuit and ended its relationship with EL Education. [28] [27]
The Caucus supported efforts in 2025 to make school board races partisan, requiring members to identify with a political party. [29]
2024 budget debate
During the 2024–25 legislative session, the Freedom Caucus attempted to drastically reduce the expense and scale of the state government by eliminating multiple state agencies and reducing the budget by $1 billion. [30] The Caucus introduced 100 amendments during the debate, a move that other Republican members labelled as "campaign ploy[s]". [30] In the end, the $14 billion budget passed 99-13, with the Caucus members rescinding many of their amendments after nearly three dozen of them were rejected. [30] The debate, largely between Freedom Caucus and members of the House Republican Caucus, was reported to be "harsh". [31]
Abortion debate
In 2022, Caucus members supported a bill that would authorize the death penalty for women who received an abortion. [19] [4] [32] Senator Majority Leader, Shane Massey (R–Edgefield), told reporters the bill would never pass the state Senate, calling the Freedom Caucus "rogues". [33] Similarly, Speaker Smith said he had no intention of taking up the bill and that he didn't want any abortion law to "criminalize women". [33]
During the 2025–26 legislative session, Rep. John McCravy (R–Greenwood) introduced a bill that would ban abortion from conception, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal anomalies. [34] [35] All Freedom Caucus members in the House co-sponsored the bill. [34] The Caucus called for similar legislation in the wake of the 2024 State House election, in which the Republicans gained a supermajority in the chamber. [36] [10]
Voter registration investigation
In May 2022, then-Chairman Adam Morgan accused the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services of "illegally register[ing] non-citizens to vote" by sending them voter registration materials in the mail. [37] At the request of Governor McMaster, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigated the matter, finding that the form warned non-citizens against completing it, and required an attestation of citizenship. [37] In response, Morgan questioned why non-citizens were receiving the form at all.
Controversy and criticism
R.J. May arrest
In December 2024, Lexington Representative and Freedom Caucus co-founder, RJ May, was suspended from the Caucus amid an investigation surrounding his possession of child sexual abuse material. [38] In May 2025, he was indicted on child sex abuse charges, and arrested a month later. [39] Caucus Chair Jordan Pace condemned May, calling for his expulsion from the House and for "swift justice" for his victims. [40] In September 2025, May pleaded guilty to the charges. [41]
Legislative tactics
Members of both major parties have criticized the Freedom Caucus for its obstructionist legislative tactics that often force extended debate, delay votes, or derail the agenda. [7] [13] [42] House Republican Caucus member Neal Collins called the tactics "amateur and immature". [7] Their tactics, as seen in the 2024 budget battle, also include introducing an amendment and requiring a roll call vote, then posting the votes to social media. These votes have been called "gotcha votes" by non-Freedom Caucus Republicans.
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