Republican Liberty Caucus Chair On Trump, The Role of Gov't & Liberty
- Charles I. Guarria
- Sep 4
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 4
On the weekend of Aug. 30-31, many Floridians and some folk from throughout the U.S. came to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for the cause of liberty. What brought them to the Radisson Resort at the Port was the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida's Biennial Convention.
The National Chairperson of the Republican Liberty Caucus, John Dennis, stepped away from the day one proceedings to open up about President Donald Trump, what the federal government's role should be and how the RLC's highlight accomplishment in 2025 will be the organization's guidepost through 2026.
"It's been a great year,” Mr. Dennis said when discussing the RLC's accomplishments in 2025. "Our membership is up 33% since May. We had a bunch of folks come over from the Libertarian Party. That was a big jump."
In June, the Libertarian Party's 2024 Vice-Presidential candidate, Mike ter Maat, led a group of approximately 42 Libertarians in joining the RLC.
Mr. ter Maat's goal through the end of 2026 is to continue the RLC's successful membership drive while creating Chapters in as many states as possible. He and the other former Libertarians who crossed over will also advocate for liberty-based ideas within the Republican Party.
It wasn't only Libertarians who helped increase RLC membership. Mr. Dennis said that folk from the MAHA movement are now in the caucus.
"I think we fill a certain niche in the Republican Party," Mr. Dennis said in describing the attraction of the Caucus he heads. "Were we agree with Trump on a lot of stuff; we (also) disagree on things. When we do disagree, we don't condemn, and we carve out our own space."
He emphasized that the RLC remains loyal to President Trump, even when opposing him on certain issues, such as the June 21 bombing of Iran. In a statement released the same evening as the attack, the RLC detailed its objection.
This move has exponentially increased the threat to Americans in the U.S. and around the world.
The law of unintended consequences is undefeated. After the debacles in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria we know that kinetic action rarely turns out as planned.
The 1973 War Powers Act makes it clear that the president may only authorize such strikes a) when the U.S. is under imminent threat, and b) to defend American interests. There was no imminent threat from Iran, and no American interest has been defined.
The presser concludes, "Tonight's bombing of Iran contradicts President Trump's peace instinct, and we hope the opportunity remains for him to employ his negotiating skills toward a resolution without further military engagement."
Mr. Dennis expounded, "I mean, listen, diplomacy is always the first thing and anytime you take an action like that, or even go to war in general. It's a complete failure of the politicians."
He believes expressing the RLC’s disagreement in the manner that they did, "helped to elevate our profile."
The RLC has not taken a position regarding the federal government's recent 9.9% ownership of Intel. However, Mr. Dennis offered his opinion, "I've been unabashedly opposed to it," he commented. "Now the federal government is picking winners and losers, they have a stake in the game. That's not their role. It's not constitutional. You know, Congress didn't vote on it, and so, I oppose that, and I suspect that if we took a vote on it the RLC would as well."
On another matter of the moment, Mr. Dennis said that the president has the authority to use the National Guard in Washington, D.C. and has the authority to expand that use to other cities if he determines that there is a state of emergency.
The Republican Liberty Caucus doesn't lobby politicians to stake out policy positions that comport with the RLC. "But we hold you to account," Mr. Dennis explained.
One of the ways that the RLC keeps the Republican Party's feet to the fire is through its annual Liberty Scorecard.
In 2024, the RLC reviewed Republican Senators' and Representatives' voting records on 20 bills that affected liberty.
On the Senate side, Kentucky's Rand Paul and Utah's Mike Lee were atop the leader board, earning the perfect score of 100. While bottom feeders were Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Indiana's Todd Young. That trio "earned" scores of 5, 10 and 10, respectively.
Within the House of Representatives, Kentucky's Rep. Thomas Massie was the lone defender of liberty to receive the perfect score of 100. While Pennsylvania's Brian Fitzpatrick was the least liberty-minded, checking in as the last-place finisher with a score of 20.
When questioned about firebrands Thomas Massie and Rand Paul, Mr. Dennis responded, "Those guys understand what the appropriate role of government is, and they vote accordingly."
The Republican Liberty Caucus is a 527 organization that is based on free markets, individual rights, and limited government. Though many Republicans claim to hold those principles dearly, the RLC exposes Republicans who do not and is working to bring the party back to those ideals.
"We've forgotten that individual liberty is the is the highest political value, and that the role of government is to protect your liberty," Mr. Dennis said. "That's what it was set up to do, and that's where they failed."
Pointing to the fact that the Democratic Party does not have a liberty caucus and the Libertarian Party, though serving a useful role, hasn't been terribly effective on a national level, he surmised, "The RLC is the best avenue to a more appropriate government, and a government that's going to focus more on protecting people's rights." Mr. Dennis encourages anyone interested in reestablishing liberty to help "grow this wing, this corner of the big Republican tent. Grow the Liberty wing of the party."
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Photo Credit: Carlos Barria/Pool/Reuters, Me. Republican Liberty Caucus
See ya soon!
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