The House Freedom Caucus voted Tuesday to boot Rep. Ken Buck, who previously announced he would resign from Congress this week.
The Colorado Republican’s ouster from the most conservative faction of GOP lawmakers was first reported by The Hill.
According to the outlet, Mr. Buck was informed of his HFC membership revocation following the vote.
His removal was based on issues ranging from breaking with Republicans on too many key issues to “leaving the conference” at a time when the GOP controls the lower chamber with a “historically narrow margin.”
“HFC does not comment on membership or internal processes,” an HFC spokesperson said in response to the report.
Just minutes before being told he was no longer a Freedom Caucus member, he told The Times that the GOP Conference during his nine years in office became too “MAGA” for him.
“I think we are less of a conservative party and more of a MAGA party now,” said Mr. Buck who considered himself a “tea party” Republican when he was first elected.
“When I was part of the tea party movement, and in ‘09 and ‘10, it was all about strict constructionism in terms of how we looked at the Constitution,” he said.
He added that the impeachments of former President Donald Trump were “ridiculous” but that the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas and the “threatened impeachment” of President Biden are “wrong.”
The Times has reached out to Mr. Buck’s office since his reported ouster for comment but did not immediately hear back.