Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) on Thursday announced he’s leaving the Republican Party and becoming an independent, months after igniting a political firestorm when he became the first sitting GOP congressman to call for an impeachment inquiry against President Trump.
“Today, I am declaring my independence and leaving the Republican Party,” Amash wrote in a Fourth of July op-ed for the Washington Post. “No matter your circumstance, I’m asking you to join me in rejecting the partisan loyalties and rhetoric that divide and dehumanize us. I’m asking you to believe that we can do better than this two-party system — and to work toward it. If we continue to take America for granted, we will lose it.”
The libertarian congressman, who said he’s become “disenchanted with party politics and frightened by what I see from it,” argued that “the two-party system has evolved into an existential threat to American principles and institutions.”
Amash has fueled speculation in recent weeks that he’s planning to mount a third-party challenge to Trump, whom the Michigan lawmaker has repeatedly criticized in the wake of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on 2016 election interference.
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Despite mounting pressure from fellow Republicans, Amash has remained steadfast in his position, arguing in an interview with Vox on Wednesday that the GOP is moving “toward a sense of victimization.”
In an interview with The Hill in June, Amash insisted he had no interest in playing “spoiler” in the 2020 election, saying that if he runs, he intends to win.
Asked at the time if he had made a decision on a third-party presidential run, Amash said, “I haven’t ruled anything out.”
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Rep. Justin Amash quits Republican party https://t.co/FheyVVUdif pic.twitter.com/RgW7JzAYje
— The Hill (@thehill) July 4, 2019
Free at last.
Happy Independence Day!
When I said "constant thunderclaps of insecurity," this is what I meant. https://t.co/zB5MxmqXcH
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 4, 2019
Opinion | Justin Amash: Our politics is in a partisan death spiral. That’s why I’m leaving the GOP. https://t.co/oMvVezLiSL
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 4, 2019
Congratulations, @justinamash – We know how you feel. Thanks for doing the right thing.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) July 4, 2019
Three years ago, with little more than my conscience and the evidence I had seen that Russia was meddling in our democracy, I took a deep breath and left the GOP. I left my fiancé, my friends, my professional network, and my future career.
— Marjorie Romeyn (@marjorieromeyn) July 4, 2019
I think the Amash op-ed is good and I admire his conviction and his decision. But one substantive objection: The reason partisanship is so destructive now is to a significant extent the result of the **parties** being too weak, as I've been ranting about for a while.
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) July 4, 2019
Today, I’m declaring my independence.https://t.co/4e5TeVtGRK
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) July 4, 2019
Well, this move was not unexpected. Neither Amash nor his former party was happy with each other.
We do have to break this two-party system. Neither party represents conservatives. The Republican Party was always touted as conservative, but if it ever was, it isn’t now. Amash is more libertarian, but I’m not sure the Libertarian Party is libertarian anymore. Seems these days, it has become far more liberal.
We voters really do need a viable alternative to the same old nonsense we get from both parties. It’s about time we have someone who might actually do what he says he is going to do. Anyway, I wish Mr. Amash well.
Maybe I’ll have someone to vote for in the next election after all.
Today, I sent the attached letter to Republican leaders as formal notification that I am withdrawing my membership in the House Republican Conference and, consistent with House rules, resigning from the Committee on Oversight and Reform. pic.twitter.com/8x8lFUmaGY
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) July 8, 2019
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