Dozens of freshman Democrats have asked House leaders to consider making Michigan Rep. Justin Amash an impeachment manager in the Senate trial of President Trump.
The group of 30 House Democrats think it could help their case to remove Trump from office if Amash, a libertarian who left the Republican Party this year, led the charge, according to the Washington Post. Amash, one of the most conservative members of the House and a Trump critic, could help Democrats reach conservative voters and give the party a defense against Republican accusations that it’s a partisan exercise.
“To the extent that this can be bipartisan, it should, and I think including Representative Amash amongst the impeachment managers is a smart move both for the country, for the substance and for the optics,” said Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, who is leading the push.
“There couldn’t be anyone perhaps in the entire U.S. House … whose general political views are as polar opposite from many of us in the Democratic Caucus, and that’s what makes it such a powerful statement: that on the issue of our responsibility to our Constitution, we are perfectly aligned,” he added.
Phillips said Amash is qualified to argue the case for removing Trump in the Senate because he’s an attorney, a constitutionalist, and “the first and only member of the Republican conference, when he was a Republican, to show courage.”
Amash has agreed to consider accepting the position if asked, according to Phillips.
The now-independent congressman said earlier this month he intends on voting to impeach Trump when the full House votes on articles of impeachment, which is likely to happen Wednesday. He left the Republican Party in July, citing partisanship.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will make the decision on impeachment managers and is expected to announce them early this week.
