Newly independent Rep. Justin Amash on Sunday said President Trump has added to the rancor in Washington, but that political discourse began breaking down long before, thanks to the top-down control of congressional leaders in a rigid two-party system.
“I don’t think a lot of the partisan discord and the rest started with President Trump. It’s been going on for years, and it’s gotten worse in recent years,” Mr. Amash, of Michigan, told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“But he’s helping to fuel it, and he’s making it worse,” the congressman added. “And he’s making it more difficult for people to be independent in Congress.”
Mr. Amash announced his exit from the Republican Party in an Independence Day op-ed for The Washington Post, saying the two-party system has resulted in a “partisan death spiral” and poses an “existential threat to American principles and institutions.”
He said he plans to run for reelection as an independent, though he won’t rule out a third-party bid for president.
“I’ve had concerns with the Republican Party for several years,” Mr. Amash said. “I’ve had concerns with the party system generally.”
Mr. Amash’s exit from the GOP capped a remarkable few weeks. He broke from the House Republican Conference by calling for impeachment hearings against Mr. Trump, citing findings in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Mr. Amash estimated that “less than 15%” of Congress has read the Mueller report, which did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and Mr. Trump but painted an unflattering portrait of the president’s handling of the probe.
The congressman hasn’t gotten much sympathy from fellow Republicans, and Mr. Trump wished him good riddance, saying Mr. Amash is a “total loser” who feared a primary.
Mr. Amash said he couldn’t dignify the president’s tweet with a response.
“He thinks that people owe loyalty to him, but people are elected to Congress with an oath to support and defend the Constitution,” Mr. Amash said.
The former Republican aimed much of his ire at congressional leadership, saying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her predecessor, Paul D. Ryan, have wielded too much influence over the legislative process.
“Nothing ever came out of the committees that wasn’t approved by Speaker Ryan,” Mr. Amash said.
Mr. Amash said he thought he could change Congress from within when he arrived in 2011. He joined the House Freedom Caucus, an arch-conservative group that sparred with GOP leadership over the way the chamber operates, saying individual lawmakers needed a bigger voice.
Yet he found resistance at every turn.
“It’s pretty rigid. It’s top-down. It comes down from leadership to the bottom. And, over the years, it’s gotten more rigid. So it’s more difficult now to actually change the process than it was even a few years ago,” Mr. Amash told CNN.
The congressman said he expects GOP leaders to crack down on him in the coming days or weeks. For instance, he may lose his seat on the House Oversight Committee.
“I understand the consequences of doing what I’m doing,” he said.
Mr. Amash also slammed the Democratic leader, Mrs. Pelosi, for refusing to launch impeachment proceedings against Mr. Trump.
“From a principled, moral position, she’s making a mistake,” he said. “From a strategic position, she’s making a mistake. If she believes, as I do, that there’s impeachable conduct in there, then she should say so. She should tell the American people, we’re going to move forward with impeachment hearings and potentially articles of impeachment.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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