Tea Party Caucus

The Tea Party Caucus (TPC) was a congressional caucus of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives, consisting of its most conservative members. It was founded in July 2010 by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in coordination with the Tea Party movement the year following the movement's 2009 creation. Bachmann served as the Caucus's first chair.

The idea of a Tea Party Caucus originated from Rand Paul (KY) when he was campaigning for the U.S. Senate in 2010. The Caucus was approved as an official congressional member organization by the House Administration Committee on July 19, 2010, and held its first meeting and public event, a press conference on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, on July 21. A similar informal Caucus was formed in the Senate by four Senators on January 27, 2011. From July 2012 to April 2013 the Tea Party Caucus neither met nor posted news on its webpage, leading observers to describe it as "dead," "inactive," and "defunct." In April 2013, Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina filed paperwork to create a new Tea Party Caucus, but found that Bachmann intended to continue the caucus, starting with an event on April 25, 2013.

The Caucus was reconstituted in the 114th Congress in January 2015. Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas became the chair in February 2015. Huelskamp lost party primary election in 2016 and since then, the Caucus has remained inactive, with no official announcement of its dissolution. Most of Tea Party Caucus members have joined the far-right Freedom Caucus. Although the Tea Party is not a party in the classic sense of the word, research has shown that members of the Tea Party Caucus voted like a third party in Congress.

A largely right-wing populist faction of the Republican Party, the Tea Party Caucus promoted tax cuts, cuts in non-defense spending and adherence to the movement's interpretation of the Constitution. The caucus's members have also advocated socially conservative legislation, supported the right to keep and bear arms, and promoted limited government. The Caucus also included far-right members, like Bachmann.