Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash announced Monday evening he is leaving the influential conservative House Freedom Caucus, just weeks after he attracted the ire of his colleagues by arguing in Twitter posts that President Trump had committed impeachable offenses, Fox News has learned.
Amash, speaking at a Freedom Caucus board meeting, insisted his departure was voluntary. Amash said he did not want to continue to be a “further distraction” for the caucus, which is chaired by North Carolina GOP Rep. Mark Meadows.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a member of the Freedom Caucus, told Fox News’ “Ingraham Angle” Monday evening that Meadows and Amash mutually came to the decision after several conversations.
Jordan said the Republican members of the group still consider Amash a friend, but that their disagreements were “sharp” and significant.
“Some of the president’s actions were inherently corrupt,” Amash, who said Trump had “engaged in impeachable conduct,” tweeted in May. “Other actions were corrupt — and therefore impeachable — because the president took them to serve his own interests.”
Biden-appointed judge blocks Trump’s move to only allow two genders on US passports
Border czar Tom Homan reveals unprecedented success in Trump’s border strategy
Virginia Democrats choose nominee to challenge GOP Attorney General Jason Miyares
Florida attorney general held in contempt after challenging court’s block on immigration law
US Embassy in Jerusalem to close until Friday as Israel-Iran conflict rages
Former Democratic Senator Begins 11-Year Federal Prison Sentence
Days After Deadly Crash that Killed 241, Air India Pilot Turns Flight Around After Noticing Issue
Thune warns Iran should return to negotiating table ‘if they’re smart’
Illinois teacher indicted on 52 additional charges in student sexual abuse case
Explainer: What Exactly Is the ‘Bunker Buster’ Bomb That’s Been in the News?
Key Member of Trump Administration Hospitalized: Breaking Report
Trump blows off Gabbard downplaying Iran nuke threat, but WH still says president and intel chief are in sync
New poll reveals majority of Californians oppose this key benefit for illegal immigrants
NAACP Hits Trump with a Snub Not Seen in 116 Years
California officials charge LA anti-ICE rioters over protest violence
Amash also accused Attorney General Bill Barr of intentionally misrepresenting Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report through lawyerly sleights of hand.
President Trump responded by writing that Amash was a “loser” and a “lightweight” seeking to gain national name recognition.
At a town hall in Grand Rapids, Mich., late last month, some of Amash’s constituents excoriated him for pushing for impeachment, while several others commended him for breaking ranks with his party and standing on principle.
“You talk about the Constitution and how important that is, but yet nothing that Mueller came out within this report, nothing that has been said about him and President Trump is constitutional — it’s been a smear tactic, because that’s how the Democrats work,” one Trump supporter told Amash.
“How can you become a Democrat when we voted for you as a Republican?” the attendee continued. “Because you’ve just drank the same Kool-Aid as all the Democrats.”
Biden-appointed judge blocks Trump’s move to only allow two genders on US passports
Border czar Tom Homan reveals unprecedented success in Trump’s border strategy
Virginia Democrats choose nominee to challenge GOP Attorney General Jason Miyares
Florida attorney general held in contempt after challenging court’s block on immigration law
US Embassy in Jerusalem to close until Friday as Israel-Iran conflict rages
Former Democratic Senator Begins 11-Year Federal Prison Sentence
Days After Deadly Crash that Killed 241, Air India Pilot Turns Flight Around After Noticing Issue
Thune warns Iran should return to negotiating table ‘if they’re smart’
Illinois teacher indicted on 52 additional charges in student sexual abuse case
Explainer: What Exactly Is the ‘Bunker Buster’ Bomb That’s Been in the News?
Key Member of Trump Administration Hospitalized: Breaking Report
Trump blows off Gabbard downplaying Iran nuke threat, but WH still says president and intel chief are in sync
New poll reveals majority of Californians oppose this key benefit for illegal immigrants
NAACP Hits Trump with a Snub Not Seen in 116 Years
California officials charge LA anti-ICE rioters over protest violence
Amash then defended his record in Congress, telling the town hall attendees he has “one of the most constitutionally conservative and fiscally conservative” voting records of all sitting lawmakers and that he’s at the top “of nearly all the scorecards” of conservative groups.
Amash had a high 88 rating from the American Conservative Union (ACU) in 2018, up from 78 in 2017. Jordan scored 100 for both years, while Meadows notched 91 and 100, respectively. The group’s Federal Legislative Ratings scores members of Congress based on how they vote in line with conservative principles. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., by contrast, had a 4 rating in 2018.
Another woman at the town hall, Anna Timmer, criticized Amash for “grandstanding” and trying to raise his “national profile,” while arguing that an impeachment inquiry would “tear this country apart.”
