Dismayed by congressional Republicans’ unbending loyalty to President Trump, GOP Congressman Justin Amash of west Michigan continues to mull the prospect of running for the White House in 2020 as a Libertarian Party candidate.
Amash has said that he believes he resonates with voters who reject the “two-party duopoly” of Republicans and Democrats that controls every aspect of Washington politics.
The Libertarian Party has urged Amash to mount a third-party challenge to Trump.
“There’s a lot of people who consider Amash to be the best congressman from the perspective of a Libertarian,” Nicholas Sarwark, Libertarian Party chairman, told MLive. “They think he’s the best congressman for our goals since Ron Paul.”
Amash, 38, of Cascade Township, said he would not “rule out” a bid, though he has not set in motion any plans for a candidacy. The congressman was first elected in 2010 when the tea party led a surge of Republican members in the House.
“The tea party is largely gone. It was replaced with nationalism and protectionism and the general philosophy of the party now under Trump,” Amash said to MLive.
Amash has become a frequent critic of the president, often slamming Trump on Twitter, accusing him of violating the constitution, and attacking the president’s character. The congressman also rails against Trump’s immigration policies and he was one of just 13 House Republicans who voted against the president’s emergency declaration to shift federal funds for the building of more fencing at the Southern border.
“I think it is important that we have someone in there who is presenting a vision for America that is different than what these two parties are presenting,” Amash said in a CNN interview last month.
“Right now, we have a wild amount of partisan rhetoric on both sides, and Congress is totally broken. We can’t debate things in a clear way anymore. Everything has become, ‘Do you like President Trump or do you not like President Trump?’”
