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.”
Trump to honor Artemis II astronauts who traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history
Trump fires back after protester interrupts Myrtle Beach rally for Graham: ‘Mom is voting for us’
More Westerners Waking up to Islam as Gov’t Bans Face Coverings, Leaving Both Muslims and (Ironically) Feminists Angry
Candace Cameron Bure Tears Up on Air Over Constant Criticism, But God Provided a Literally Perfect Smile Through the Pain
Fauci’s lawyers launch legal defense fund as federal, state investigations mount against him
Late-night bull run ends with a little cowboy know-how on busy California highway
New Jersey mother allegedly drunk when boat hit channel marker on Memorial Day, killing her son
Texas Gov Abbott asks the Justice Department to investigate ‘discriminatory’ Islamic washing stations
DOJ says Rubio should have final say over Foreign Service board in latest bid to tighten executive powers
Trump Announces Deal to ‘Substantially Lower the Price of Ground Beef’
Chinese Man Charged with Illegally Voting in US Election and Trying to Frame Someone Else
US threatens Belgian university over suspension of academic who exposed Jason Arday fraud
Two US Army Corps of Engineers employees among 8 killed in Alaska charter plane crash
WATCH: Deputies hunt wanted man through cornfield after high-speed chase caught on camera
Black voters rip Dems over taking them for granted in El-Sayed’s backyard: ‘Hush us up’
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.”
Trump to honor Artemis II astronauts who traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history
Trump fires back after protester interrupts Myrtle Beach rally for Graham: ‘Mom is voting for us’
More Westerners Waking up to Islam as Gov’t Bans Face Coverings, Leaving Both Muslims and (Ironically) Feminists Angry
Candace Cameron Bure Tears Up on Air Over Constant Criticism, But God Provided a Literally Perfect Smile Through the Pain
Fauci’s lawyers launch legal defense fund as federal, state investigations mount against him
Late-night bull run ends with a little cowboy know-how on busy California highway
New Jersey mother allegedly drunk when boat hit channel marker on Memorial Day, killing her son
Texas Gov Abbott asks the Justice Department to investigate ‘discriminatory’ Islamic washing stations
DOJ says Rubio should have final say over Foreign Service board in latest bid to tighten executive powers
Trump Announces Deal to ‘Substantially Lower the Price of Ground Beef’
Chinese Man Charged with Illegally Voting in US Election and Trying to Frame Someone Else
US threatens Belgian university over suspension of academic who exposed Jason Arday fraud
Two US Army Corps of Engineers employees among 8 killed in Alaska charter plane crash
WATCH: Deputies hunt wanted man through cornfield after high-speed chase caught on camera
Black voters rip Dems over taking them for granted in El-Sayed’s backyard: ‘Hush us up’
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.”









