Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck “hasn’t been with conservatives on several major issues” recently, according to one member of the House Freedom Caucus.
That’s one reason why Buck was voted out of the caucus Tuesday night, that unnamed source told The Hill.
The same person told the outlet that the caucus was frustrated by Buck’s resignation, which was seen as the Republican “leaving the conference hanging with a historically narrow margin.”
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The vote may have been something of a formality, actually, as Buck had already not been attending the caucus meetings regularly “in months” anyway.
The source told The Hill that Buck wasn’t considered to be a member in “good standing” even before he was officially removed.
The caucus informed the Colorado Republican of its vote on Tuesday.
Buck announced his retirement from Congress last year, but said he would serve out the remainder of his term.
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Last week, however, he announced that he would accelerate that timeline and leave Congress this week.
“The decision further chips away at the GOP majority in the House,” The Hill wrote.
Was the House Freedom Caucus right to remove Ken Buck?
Yes: 97% (1114 Votes)
No: 3% (39 Votes)
“Republicans will still only be able to afford to lose two of their members on any party-line votes assuming all lawmakers are present, which is how the breakdown currently stands. But it decreases the cushion GOP lawmakers will have when considering partisan measures.”
The Hill pointed out a number of areas in which Buck broke with the Republican Party on key House votes, demonstrating just how slender the GOP’s margin is in Congress.
For example, Buck voted against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, one of only three Republican House members to do so.
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He was also one of only eight GOP members who sided with Democrats to remove California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the House speakership.
The House Freedom Caucus voted last year to oust Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, after she was seen as growing too “close with GOP leadership,” the Hill reported.
Buck told CNN that the past 12 months have been “the worst year” of his nine years in Congress.
“It is the worst year of the nine years and three months that I’ve been in Congress,” he said, according to the Hill. “And having talked to former members, it’s the worst year in 40, 50 years to be in Congress.
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“But I’m leaving because I think there’s a job to do out there that I want to go do,” Buck added.
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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of "WJ Live," powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English as well as a Master's in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
