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.”
Federal HR office pulls back curtain on sweeping NDA plan aimed at curbing government leaks
US and Iran reach ceasefire extension deal pending Trump’s final approval
Breaking: US and Iran Reportedly Reach Peace Agreement Pending Trump’s Approval
Husband’s phone GPS data prompts feds to search 25-foot-deep Bahamian waters for Lynette Hooker: sources
Judge hands Trump mail-ballot win for now as Democrats’ next move looms
Another One: Male LGBT Activist Arrested After Admitting Abusive Plan for 13-Year-Old Boy
1994 NBA Finals Clip Resurfaces Showing Trump at Knicks Game After Hochul Questioned His Fandom
US Military Prepared to Strike Cuba at Moment’s Notice: ‘When POTUS Says Go, We’re Ready’
Clarence Thomas puts Dems on clock as Alabama GOP emergency map bid stalled
Anti-ICE agitators throw wooden pallets, mattresses at federal agents during chaotic NJ detention center clash
Federal government’s landlord joins Vance fraud crackdown as White House widens hunt: ‘Critical force’
Al Green was a fighter for the Democrats. He lost his Texas primary anyway
Pentagon slashes NATO combat commitments as Trump pushes Europe to defend itself
US denies reports of evacuating US Embassy in Kyiv amid threats of Russian airstrikes
Ukrainian veterans are returning injured, broken, and angry. How can the government help them survive?
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.”
Federal HR office pulls back curtain on sweeping NDA plan aimed at curbing government leaks
US and Iran reach ceasefire extension deal pending Trump’s final approval
Breaking: US and Iran Reportedly Reach Peace Agreement Pending Trump’s Approval
Husband’s phone GPS data prompts feds to search 25-foot-deep Bahamian waters for Lynette Hooker: sources
Judge hands Trump mail-ballot win for now as Democrats’ next move looms
Another One: Male LGBT Activist Arrested After Admitting Abusive Plan for 13-Year-Old Boy
1994 NBA Finals Clip Resurfaces Showing Trump at Knicks Game After Hochul Questioned His Fandom
US Military Prepared to Strike Cuba at Moment’s Notice: ‘When POTUS Says Go, We’re Ready’
Clarence Thomas puts Dems on clock as Alabama GOP emergency map bid stalled
Anti-ICE agitators throw wooden pallets, mattresses at federal agents during chaotic NJ detention center clash
Federal government’s landlord joins Vance fraud crackdown as White House widens hunt: ‘Critical force’
Al Green was a fighter for the Democrats. He lost his Texas primary anyway
Pentagon slashes NATO combat commitments as Trump pushes Europe to defend itself
US denies reports of evacuating US Embassy in Kyiv amid threats of Russian airstrikes
Ukrainian veterans are returning injured, broken, and angry. How can the government help them survive?
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.”
