Congressional Conservatives Grade GOP-Controlled House: 'C-Plus'
House Freedom Caucus co-chairs grade their colleagues and weigh in on 2016.
— -- Power Players
Republicans won big time in last November’s Midterm Elections, wresting the Senate from Democratic control and piling up a whopping 246-seat majority in the House –- the largest for the party since 1929. But 100 days after being handed the reins to Congress, two leading congressional conservatives -- founding members of the House Freedom Caucus -- say the GOP’s current leadership leaves something to be desired.
“It's been average,” Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, told “Power Players.” “I don't think we've done a great job of following the promises that we made. I think we've done some good things, and we've done some not so great things. But what's really lacking is a vision for the future of America.”
In the interview, fellow Freedom Caucus chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, agreed with Labrador's grade for the accomplishments of the GOP-controlled House so far: “C-plus.”
The House Freedom Caucus is a new group Labrador and Jordan have formed on Capitol Hill, currently populated with about 40 members.
“We're looking for guys who want to -- in an optimistic but aggressive way -- fight for those things that we think so many families think aren't getting fought for here in Washington, D.C.,” Jordan said. “We’re hopefully a little more mobile, agile, versatile group that can do what we told the voters we were going to do and fight for those issues.”
Membership in the Caucus is by invitation only and current members vote on new applicants.
"We don't have to look at things in the same way, we just have to have a common goal of keeping the promises that we made to our constituents,” Labrador added.
And when it comes to the 2016 presidential race, the Freedom Caucus won’t be endorsing a candidate, but they like the Republican Party’s chances.
“I think it's a good field,” Jordan said. “More are going to join. It's going be a good race. And we'll see who, just like any other tournament ... wins the semi-finals, and then who gets to go to the finals.”
But Labrador already has a favorite: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
“I like all the other people that are running, but to me, Rand Paul is the best, because he's closer to my philosophy,” he said.
For more of the interview with Reps. Labrador and Jordan, including what they think of potential GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush, watch this episode of “Power Players.”
ABC News’ Michael Falcone, Tom Thornton and Michelle Manzione contributed to this episode.
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