Their plan is to pressure Boehner and McConnell into taking up bills designed to force the Obama administration to defend some of its most unpopular policies, including the 2010 health care law. And they want to increase border security without any legislative sweeteners like increases in visas for high-tech workers or allowing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Conservative Republicans also want to create work requirements for welfare recipients and force Obama to veto the Keystone XL pipeline…

It’s an ad hoc effort as of now, but staffers said members like Republican Reps. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, Tom Graves of Georgia, Jim Jordan of Ohio, Reid Ribble of Wisconsin, Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee have discussed ways to highlight a more conservative agenda during the next Congress, which begins in January.

In the Senate, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, along with likely presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, intend to use a small Republican majority to push for a series of hard-line conservative bills to be sent to the president.