Freedom Caucus Tells GOP Leaders to Finish the Work Before Power Shifts

The House Freedom Caucus fired off a demand Monday to Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader John Thune: finish the work. The group wants Republican leaders to move fast to shield the country from an incoming majority party it says is "hell-bent on radically changing it."

At the top of the list is a reconciliation package. The caucus wants it to fund defense modernization, expand health savings accounts and short-term health insurance plans as tax relief for families, and lock in at least $1 trillion in spending cuts. A separate bill would push American energy dominance and drive down fuel and electricity prices.

The wish list doesn't stop there. The caucus is calling for a ban on stock trading by members of Congress and officials in the executive and judicial branches, including the president and his family. It also wants voter ID requirements for federal elections and as many presidential nominees confirmed in the Senate as possible.

The push lands with Republicans still holding the levers in Washington, and the caucus is treating the window as closing. Every item — from the cuts to the trading ban to the confirmations — is framed as work that has to be done now, before the other side takes the gavel.