Rep. Luna asked former congressman Ken Buck to leave Freedom Caucus
Advertisement
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna revealed that she asked former Rep. Ken Buck to leave the hardline House Freedom Caucus, citing his effort to complicate Rep. Lauren Boebert ‘s campaign to replace him. Luna, R-Fla., spoke about her behind-the-scenes argument with Buck, R-Colo., during a Fox Business interview with host Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday morning.
‘With what Rep. Buck had done especially to another member of Congress , in potentially hamstringing Rep. Boebert’s election, I actually was the member that came forward and asked him to leave the Freedom Caucus,’ Luna said. The conservative House Freedom Caucus voted last week to remove Buck from the caucus, citing his attendance record, just days before his expected resignation from Congress.
‘We have a code of honor here and as a result of that, if you can’t live by that code of honor, you don’t deserve the title,’ Luna said. Buck had already announced his decision not to run for re-election, but said he would resign from his position early rather than finish his final term.
The announcement triggered a special election in Colorado , requiring Republican voters in the district to not only choose a candidate to fill the rest of his term but a separate candidate to represent the district in the next Congress. Boebert, R-Colo., viewed Buck’s decision as a way to thwart her campaign to replace him, as she would have to resign her own seat in the third district to run for the special election.
‘Ken Buck’s announcement yesterday was a gift to the uniparty,’ Boebert said after Buck announced his decision. ‘The establishment concocted a swampy backroom deal to try and win an election.’ Luna also criticized Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., for his surprise decision last week to resign, delaying his departure from Congress which would prevent a special election to fill his seat.
She joined members of her party calling for Gallagher to resign immediately so that a special election could be held to replace him, rather than leave the seat vacant until the next Congress. ‘We’re hoping he does the right thing and steps down early,’ she said. Bartiromo said Gallagher was reportedly set to take a job with the company Palantir after his exit from Congress.
Luna’s revelations detail the ongoing drama between establishment Republican political figures and new MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives as the GOP clings to their slim majority to maintain control of the chamber. With the loss of Gallagher and Buck, Republicans only hold a one-vote majority over Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Luna said it was ‘very upsetting’ to see establishment Republicans choosing their own path instead of doing the right thing to strengthen the Republican majority. ‘If we lose this majority, if we have people that are doing this simply for self instead of service, then we’re in pretty bad shape,’ she said. Luna said she hoped that the motion to vacate the chair that was filed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., would not get called up for a vote on the House floor, urging Speaker Mike Johnson to stop making deals with Democrats.
