Bob Good, one of the eight who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy, elected as chairman of 50-member hardline House GOP Freedom Caucus

The House of Representatives' most conservative group has now elected Representative Bob Good, who voted to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as its leader.

Good will now lead the nearly 50-member Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative rabble-rousers dedicated to “breaking the status quo.”

Good, R-Va., was one of eight Republicans who voted in favor of the motion, which put Speaker Mike Johnson on notice.

The election came after drama erupted within the caucus when Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, resigned from the board over the group's recommendation that Good be chosen.

Good takes over the one-year, term-limited role from Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., whose cellphone was seized by the FBI after he led efforts to overturn the election results in Pennsylvania in 2020.

The change in leadership comes as war breaks out over the reauthorization of a controversial FBI spy tool.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) specifically allows intelligence agencies to conduct unauthorized surveillance. It is intended for use on foreign citizens to stop terrorist attacks, but countless Americans have been caught up in it.

Now, the Judiciary and Freedom Caucus-oriented Republicans support one bill with major reforms, while the Intel-oriented Republicans and other Republicans support another bill, which is a reauthorization with little revision.

Johnson has agreed to tie a four-month extension of Section 702 of FISA to the mandatory defense legislation, the NDAA, further angering the Freedom Caucus.

The caucus issued an ominous threat about the fourth-month extension: “The members of the House Freedom Caucus are prepared to use all available power to change the status quo. We will not simply vote 'no' on bad legislation and go home for Christmas.”

Good will lead the group's message as they fight for FISA reform — and as they battle over how to fund the government in fiscal year 2024, when the government's short-term funding laws run out.

Funding for some government agencies will run out on January 19. Funding for the other will run out on February 2. Given the divisions within Congress, it seems unlikely that they will pass 12 separate appropriations bills — as hardline Republicans had wanted.

Previous Freedom Caucus chairs have used the position as a launching pad for other high-profile jobs. Freedom Caucus co-founder Mark Meadows subsequently served as chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, and former caucus chairman Jim Jordan is now chairman of the Judiciary Committee.