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.”
Park Police officer shot in Southeast DC suffers non life-threatening injuries as probe unfolds
Markwayne Mullin confirmed as DHS secretary with support from 2 Democrats
Mullin confirmed as DHS chief as lawmakers near solution on shutdown standoff
Duffy, Hochul, Mamdani come together after LaGuardia plane crash: ‘Politics fade away’
Top House Dem dismisses probe into Jasmine Crockett’s security guard killed in SWAT standoff
Air Traffic Controller Caught on Tape Following Airplane Crash at LaGuardia: ‘I Messed Up’
NJ man crawls through window, attempts to sexually assault girl before being subdued by resident: police
Political traffic signals: waiting for the light to change on the Hill
Supreme Court May Be Poised to Strike Down Acceptance of Mail-In Ballots After Election Day, Following Oral Argument Comments
Sheriff shrugs off missteps in Nancy Guthrie case, calls for captor to ‘let her go’ as family pleads for help
Johnson turns up heat on Schumer as DHS shutdown drags on, airport delays mount
300-plus Angel Families jump into Markwayne Mullin’s DHS nomination fight in unequivocal terms
Online fundraiser for Boston police officer charged with killing carjacking suspect rakes in massive sum
All shook up: Surreal scenes as Trump tours Graceland, musing if he could fight Elvis
Virginia Dem admits redistricting push aims to ‘stop Trump’, not about ‘fairness’
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.”
Park Police officer shot in Southeast DC suffers non life-threatening injuries as probe unfolds
Markwayne Mullin confirmed as DHS secretary with support from 2 Democrats
Mullin confirmed as DHS chief as lawmakers near solution on shutdown standoff
Duffy, Hochul, Mamdani come together after LaGuardia plane crash: ‘Politics fade away’
Top House Dem dismisses probe into Jasmine Crockett’s security guard killed in SWAT standoff
Air Traffic Controller Caught on Tape Following Airplane Crash at LaGuardia: ‘I Messed Up’
NJ man crawls through window, attempts to sexually assault girl before being subdued by resident: police
Political traffic signals: waiting for the light to change on the Hill
Supreme Court May Be Poised to Strike Down Acceptance of Mail-In Ballots After Election Day, Following Oral Argument Comments
Sheriff shrugs off missteps in Nancy Guthrie case, calls for captor to ‘let her go’ as family pleads for help
Johnson turns up heat on Schumer as DHS shutdown drags on, airport delays mount
300-plus Angel Families jump into Markwayne Mullin’s DHS nomination fight in unequivocal terms
Online fundraiser for Boston police officer charged with killing carjacking suspect rakes in massive sum
All shook up: Surreal scenes as Trump tours Graceland, musing if he could fight Elvis
Virginia Dem admits redistricting push aims to ‘stop Trump’, not about ‘fairness’
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.”
