House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan fired jabs at the disunity of the Republican Party Wednesday on the heels of Rep. Tim Huelskamp's loss in a Kansas primary the night before, Politico reports.
"Republicans need to be unified behind conservative principles to stop the Obama/Clinton agenda," Jordan said in a statement. "The House Republican leadership's opposition to Tim Huelskamp significantly damaged the ability of House Republicans to do that."
According to Politico, some caucus members "are furious" Republican Speaker Paul Ryan did not do more to help Huelskamp, a conservative who helped drive John Boehner out of the speaker's seat last year.
"Our colleague Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) is a fifth generation farmer and conservative Republican who, since the day he was elected, has stood up for the values of the families and taxpayers in his district," Jordan's statement read. "At times, Tim's commitment to fighting for smaller, more accountable government required him to stand up and say no to 'business as usual' in Washington.
"For this, he was punished by the same party insiders and special interests that Republican voters across the country overwhelmingly rejected at the ballot box throughout the presidential nomination process.
"In an ugly and dishonest campaign, Tim's record was attacked and misrepresented by big money special interest groups who wanted to exact their revenge."
Politico posted the following statement from Ryan:
"Tim Huelskamp came into Congress with a great class of freshman in 2010. They swept the Republican Party back into power with a mandate from the American people to rein in out of control spending and make government accountable to the people again. Tim took that seriously, and never shied from a tough fight to get crony capitalism out of our government. I'm proud to serve with him."