(WWJ) Trump critic Justin Amash, from MIchigan's 3rd Congressional District, made waves with an Independence Day announcement that he's quitting the Republican party.
He didn't go quietly.
"Today, I am declaring my independence and leaving the Republican Party," Amash wrote in a Washington Post op-ed Thursday morning. "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. If we continue to take America for granted, we will lose it."
Amash has drawn national attention as the only Republican to publicly say Trump's conduct has been impeachable.
The president responded to Amash's criticism at one point with the line, "(Amash) has 'been a loser for a long time.'"
Some believe his announcement of his own independence is setting up Amash's own run for the presidency, as a LIbertarian.
"The op-ed comes as Trump is embarking on his 2020 reelection campaign and it solidifies Amash's role as a leading anti-Trump conservative, representing a group that in 2016 coalesced under a loose "Never Trump" banner," CNN wrote.