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.”
‘He Was Licking His Lips With the Blood’ – Witness to Would-Be Beheading in N. Ireland Shares Grotesque Details
House Dem lashes out at GOP efforts to probe foreign donations with stunning claim on motive
Video: Christian Coffee Shop Hosts Worship as Vicious Trans Activists Scream, Attack Right Outside Their Door
‘Squad’ Dem dismisses fraud probe speculation after $29M net-worth drop
WATCH: Hearing turmoil as Jasmine Crockett unloads on MLK’s niece in wild racially-charged rant
Nancy Mace Announces Next Career Move After Losing South Carolina Gov. Primary
Karmelo Anthony isolated in jail as track meet killer appeals conviction, preps for prison stint
Video: Infuriated by Immigrant’s Attempted Beheading, Irish Citizens Set Fires Across Belfast
Obama-appointed judge with ties to anti-Trump conspiracy theory hit with misconduct complaint
Pregnant mother found murdered in Mexico as frantic search for missing children ends with surprise discovery
Senate Democrats urge a reluctant party to embrace Platner
First on Fox: Trump admin opens new front in fraud crackdown targeting health insurers, drug middlemen
God Help Us: Donations Continued to Roll in for Karmelo Anthony After He Was Convicted of Murder
GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: ‘This Is a War,’ ‘Both … Brothers Should Be Dead!’ – Chilling Videos from Karmelo Anthony Supporters Outside Courthouse
Trump concession breathes new life into stalled FISA spy powers deal
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.”
‘He Was Licking His Lips With the Blood’ – Witness to Would-Be Beheading in N. Ireland Shares Grotesque Details
House Dem lashes out at GOP efforts to probe foreign donations with stunning claim on motive
Video: Christian Coffee Shop Hosts Worship as Vicious Trans Activists Scream, Attack Right Outside Their Door
‘Squad’ Dem dismisses fraud probe speculation after $29M net-worth drop
WATCH: Hearing turmoil as Jasmine Crockett unloads on MLK’s niece in wild racially-charged rant
Nancy Mace Announces Next Career Move After Losing South Carolina Gov. Primary
Karmelo Anthony isolated in jail as track meet killer appeals conviction, preps for prison stint
Video: Infuriated by Immigrant’s Attempted Beheading, Irish Citizens Set Fires Across Belfast
Obama-appointed judge with ties to anti-Trump conspiracy theory hit with misconduct complaint
Pregnant mother found murdered in Mexico as frantic search for missing children ends with surprise discovery
Senate Democrats urge a reluctant party to embrace Platner
First on Fox: Trump admin opens new front in fraud crackdown targeting health insurers, drug middlemen
God Help Us: Donations Continued to Roll in for Karmelo Anthony After He Was Convicted of Murder
GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: ‘This Is a War,’ ‘Both … Brothers Should Be Dead!’ – Chilling Videos from Karmelo Anthony Supporters Outside Courthouse
Trump concession breathes new life into stalled FISA spy powers deal
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.”
