Dem
53
Ties
2
GOP
45
It is not known if Tom Emmer is a formal member of the Freedom Caucus (because they keep their membership list secret and not all members are public about it), but he sounds like one. The group will change considerably in January, however, and that might have consequences. The FC policy chair, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), ran for Texas AG and lost the primary, so he won't be back in January. Among other high-profile FC members who decided to run for other offices and—win or lose—won't be back in January are Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Barry Moore (R-AL), Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Tom Tiffany (R-WI). While these losses might or might not decimate the group, at the very least they will lower its profile. Democrats capturing the House will lower it even more, since Democrats will just let them whine to their hearts' content and completely ignore them. However, even if the Republicans hold the House or it is so close that every vote counts, the FC will still lose a lot of leverage with the loss of so many high-profile members.
Of course, the loss of so many leaders opens a path for other FC members to rise to prominence. Reps. Eric Burlison (R-MO), Brandon Gill (R-TX), Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Keith Self (R-TX) are expected to try to get leadership roles in the caucus. There will also have to be a new chair. Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) will probably be reelected to his seat in the House but he is term-limited as FC chair.
A possible new FC strategy in the event of Democratic control of both chambers could be opposition to deals between Congressional Democrats and Donald Trump (rather than pushing for their own legislation). They could try to lobby other House Republicans and maybe some moderate Democrats to try to sabotage anything Trump wants to do together with the Democrats. They will swap in "RINO" for "socialist" as their favorite new word. Or maybe they'll just go with "RINO socialist." That's a twofer, and who cares if it actually makes sense or not.
But as Yogi Berra noted: "It ain't over 'til it's over." There will have to be a mobility-impaired-waterfowl session of Congress in December because government funding runs out on Dec. 11. FC members are scared to death that this will result in a Christmas omnibus, in which members get a tasty bit of pork or bacon in exchange for their vote. It happens all the time and for them, keeping the pigs in check will be a priority and last hurrah. (V)