The House Freedom Caucus members suggesting a purge are signaling that one target of any ejection push is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo

At one point before the midterms, Bishop tried to signal to the then-minority leader that he would follow Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) playbook of allying more with leadership while seeking a future committee gavel. Eventually opting out of that path, Bishop is now fashioning himself more in the mold of his friend Jordan’s former, more anti-leadership identity.

In the wake of a debt deal that many conservatives loathed, Bishop was the first to call for hardliners to try to oust the speaker.

Greene and Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee this Congress, are the two most high-profile Freedom Caucus members in McCarthy’s corner. Both spoke in favor of the California Republican during the bruising speakership battle. Both voted for the debt deal, and Jordan praised it on a private call with other members — which raised some eyebrows among the rank and file.

Both Greene and Jordan swatted down Bishop’s calls for a forced vote to boot McCarthy.

Jordan, however, has shored up much more political capital within the Freedom Caucus, which he co-founded. He’s also largely avoided public criticism of group colleagues, and its members say he is clear on where he stands on big issues.

Still, that hasn’t stopped some conservative grumbling behind closed doors about his hand-in-glove work with McCarthy.

Asked about conservative battle lines forming between leadership backers and those resistant to any such allegiance, Jordan pointed to the Jan. 3 nominating speech he gave supporting McCarthy, whom he once challenged as House GOP leader.

“I said any differences that may exist … pale in comparison between the differences in Republicans and today’s Democrats,” Jordan said. “Let’s focus on sticking together as Republicans.”

Whether the Freedom Caucus heeds that message is another matter entirely.