Abstract
This chapter shifts focus to the disequilibrium of the Trump era, and studies ways that modern factions have become even more empowered by an insurgency presidency. Far-right conservatives with deeply held social values have challenged family planning provisions in foreign aid legislation, and the Freedom Caucus employed traditional and nontraditional means to help end U.S. engagement in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear deal). These cases highlight important connections between factional struggle and foreign policy outcomes.
I believe innocent human life is sacred from conception. This informs all that I do in Congress. I call on Republican leadership to keep their commitment to the American people and defund Planned Parenthood through reconciliation.
—Freedom Caucus Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) (April 25, 2017)
The Iran Deal was nothing short of a foreign policy debacle. President Trump is absolutely right to reinstate sanctions and withdraw from the agreement. The United States can do better—and we will. This is a victory for a safer and more secure America.
—Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) (May 8, 2018)
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Homan, P., Lantis, J.S. (2020). The Freedom Caucus and Factionalism in the Trump Era. In: The Battle for U.S. Foreign Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30171-2_6
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