Michigan Rep. Justin Amash announced his exit from the Republican Party in an op-ed he published Thursday in the Washington Post.
In the piece, titled “Our politics is in a partisan death spiral. That’s why I’m leaving the GOP,” Amash, 39, says his mother and father, both immigrants to America, raised him as a Republican. But he quotes George Washington’s farewell address, in which he warned of the dangers of political parties.
“Today, I am declaring my independence and leaving the Republican Party,” he wrote. “No matter your circumstance, I’m asking you to join me in rejecting the partisan loyalties and rhetoric that divide and dehumanize us. I’m asking you to believe that we can do better than this two-party system — and to work toward it.”
He wrote that he used to believe the GOP “stood for limited government, economic freedom and individual liberty — principles that had made the American Dream possible for my family.” He said he’s changed his mind. “In recent years, though, I’ve become disenchanted with party politics and frightened by what I see from it. The two-party system has evolved into an existential threat to American principles and institutions.”
I offer these conclusions only after having read Mueller’s redacted report carefully and completely, having read or watched pertinent statements and testimony, and having discussed this matter with my staff, who thoroughly reviewed materials and provided me with further analysis.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019
Amash’s split from the party comes after he faced intense criticism for becoming the first and only Republican to declare that Robert Mueller’s report into Russian interference in the 2016 election shows that “President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct.”
He was a founder of the House Freedom Caucus but left the group last month.
Since his rift with the party, a multitude of candidates have thrown their hats into the ring to take on Amash in the Republican primary for Michigan’s 3rd District.
