House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) has taken the famously confrontational group in a slightly more agreeable direction as it prepares for a Trump-controlled Washington, where the goal will be to support the incoming president’s policy agenda rather than exert maximum pressure on a Democratic administration.

But even as Harris and other members of the group stress their support for President-elect Trump, clashes between Trump and fiscal hawks in the group are already emerging.

It will be up to Harris, who in December was formally reelected to lead the group through the end of 2025, to focus the attention of about three dozen members on a common objective.

“The best way to advance the conservative agenda is to not be constantly viewed as an obstacle,” Harris said in an interview in December. “That’s why we came to an agreement on the motion to vacate.”

Harris was key in negotiating an agreement among House Republicans in November to raise the threshold for forcing a vote to oust the Speaker, known as the “motion to vacate,” from one to nine Republicans. In exchange, others in the conference dropped their pushes for antichaos internal GOP rules, such as punishing members who bucked the party on procedural votes.

“That was an example of how I think we should operate, which is to actually come to an agreement — because, you know, we are reasonable people. Come to agreements. They’re not going to be perfect for everybody, but they’re going to move us in the right direction,” Harris said.

The Freedom Caucus members also paved the way for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to be........

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