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.”
Evacuation Ordered After Canadian-Owned Gas Pipeline Springs Major Leak in US
Former NBA Star Posts Shocking, Manic Videos Asking His Coach for ‘Help’
NFL owner’s prostitution arrest puts top Dem committee on defense: ‘So desperate for cash’
Former Texas high school teacher arrested after probe into inappropriate student relationship
Jelly Roll Doubles Down, Tells Trump Supporters to Stop Listening to His Music
Judge clears path for ICE agent accused in Minnesota shooting case to leave Texas jail
Watch: UK Royal Family Stages Incredible Tribute to Dolly Parton at Buckingham Palace
America’s heartland comes face-to-face with 9/11 history as 25th anniversary nears
Democrat officials charged for allegedly scamming COVID relief funds
Trump scores federal court win against House progressive accused of assaulting ICE
Dem Candidate, Music Superstar With Sick Sexual History Defended Fellow Musician’s Video In Which He Gropes and Kills Woman
Breaking: ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Star Tim Curry Dies at 80
Netanyahu claims his son was targeted for assassination by Iran
Felony charges against Golden Gate Bridge protesters dropped
How JD Vance worked a private channel with his fantasy football buddy to try to secure a Canada trade 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.”
Evacuation Ordered After Canadian-Owned Gas Pipeline Springs Major Leak in US
Former NBA Star Posts Shocking, Manic Videos Asking His Coach for ‘Help’
NFL owner’s prostitution arrest puts top Dem committee on defense: ‘So desperate for cash’
Former Texas high school teacher arrested after probe into inappropriate student relationship
Jelly Roll Doubles Down, Tells Trump Supporters to Stop Listening to His Music
Judge clears path for ICE agent accused in Minnesota shooting case to leave Texas jail
Watch: UK Royal Family Stages Incredible Tribute to Dolly Parton at Buckingham Palace
America’s heartland comes face-to-face with 9/11 history as 25th anniversary nears
Democrat officials charged for allegedly scamming COVID relief funds
Trump scores federal court win against House progressive accused of assaulting ICE
Dem Candidate, Music Superstar With Sick Sexual History Defended Fellow Musician’s Video In Which He Gropes and Kills Woman
Breaking: ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Star Tim Curry Dies at 80
Netanyahu claims his son was targeted for assassination by Iran
Felony charges against Golden Gate Bridge protesters dropped
How JD Vance worked a private channel with his fantasy football buddy to try to secure a Canada trade 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.”
