Rep. Justin Amash Officially Leaves the GOP

Eric Schaffer | July 5, 2019
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Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, the libertarian-leaning Congressman and critic of President Trump, announced on Independence Day that he was, himself, declaring independence from the GOP. 

Yes, after several primary challengers came forward in his district after he became the only Republican member of Congress to say President Trump had committed impeachable offenses as outlined in the Mueller report, Amash finally announced his time as a member of the Republican Party was at an end.

Condemning the effects party politics and hyper-partisanship has had on the United States’ governmental system in an op-ed for the Washington Post, Amash said:

The founders envisioned Congress as a deliberative body in which outcomes are discovered. We are fast approaching the point, however, where Congress exists as little more than a formality to legitimize outcomes dictated by the president, the speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader.

Declaring his departure at the end of the piece, Amash continued:

Today, I am declaring my independence and leaving the Republican Party. 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.

Amash, as it stands now, will be the only registered Independent in the House of Representatives. Though he no longer has to worry about being primaried, one must wonder if he will be able to withstand the heat his future GOP challenger will bring, whomever it may be.

(Cover Photo: Flickr / Gage Skidmore)

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