In 2015, Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) was traveling back to Louisiana with his wife when he had an idea: a plan to empower arch-conservatives to roll back their leadership, led by then-House Speaker John Boehner. . Shortly thereafter, he and eight fellow Republicans founded the House Freedom Caucus, the same group that is determined to deny Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.) the speaker’s gavel.
If you want to understand the roots of this week’s far-right rebellion, then you need to understand the roots of the House Freedom Caucus. And while not all HFC members oppose McCarthy, and not all opponents are HFC members, most are.