Could Trump survive war with the Freedom Caucus?

In a move that could signal a major shift in White House strategy—as well as a possible campaign of retribution against members of his own political party—President Donald Trump on Thursday morning tweeted: “The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!”

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“The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!”

This comes on the heels of other recent tweets that he issued in the wake of his decision to pull the Republican health care plan.

When the bill went down, it was unclear who would be blamed. Some theorized that House Speaker Paul Ryan would be the fall guy. Others suspected this was the beginning of the end for Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. The Freedom Caucus, others theorized, might take the blame. But in the immediate aftermath, Trump blamed Democrats for the bill’s defeat.

In the waning hours before his health care plan collapsed, President Trump had attempted to cajole the Freedom Caucus, threatening that he might come after their Chairman Mark Meadows of North Carolina if he didn’t support the bill.

As part of a last-ditch effort to salvage the bill, Trump had made numerous concessions to the Freedom Caucus, but each time he granted a concession during their negotiation, they seemed to move the goal posts.

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