Justin Amash is the loneliest Republican in Congress - CNNPolitics - Haley Boyd:
March 10, 2019 - "For most Republicans, life in the House minority is a big change. But for Rep. Justin Amash ... 'It's just a different set of people doing the wrong thing,' the Michigan Republican said in an interview with CNN.
"Amash came to Congress with the Tea Party wave in 2010, and although Republicans controlled the House for the entirety of his congressional career until a few months ago, Amash has long been the odd man out. His firm libertarian stances on foreign policy, surveillance and federal spending put him in an awkward position with many in his own party. And 2 years into Donald Trump's presidency, Amash appears lonelier than ever. His closest allies – conservatives who routinely sparred with the GOP establishment in the past – have coalesced behind Trump....
"The divide was clearer than ever during a February oversight hearing with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. While most Republicans on the panel stuck to Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan's strategy of attacking Cohen's character and playing defense for the President, Amash asked sharp questions designed to draw out information....
"Jordan and Amash were both founding members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline conservatives who preached a focus on cutting government spending and opening up congressional procedure, and clashed with party leaders over it. The three dozen members played a key role in former House Speaker John Boehner's resignation in 2015, and the caucus was instrumental in shaping the House-led GOP effort to repeal Obamacare, which became a centerpiece of Trump's first-year agenda....
"'From the time [President Trump] was elected, I was urging them to remain independent and to be willing to push back against the President where they thought he was wrong,' said Amash. 'They've decided to stick with the President time and again, even where they disagree with him privately'.... Amash was the sole member of the caucus to vote against Trump's use of emergency powers to seize funds for his long-desired wall along the southern border, even though the Freedom Caucus was known for lambasting President Barack Obama's executive maneuvering to get around Congress....
"It hasn't helped that Amash has lost key allies like Raul Labrador, the Idaho lawmaker who left Congress last year to run unsuccessfully for governor of his state, and Mark Sanford, who lost his South Carolina primary to a more Trump-friendly opponent in 2018. Yet Amash reiterated his Freedom Caucus colleagues remain some of his closest friends in Congress.... And members who differ with Amash's stance say he still brings a helpful perspective....
"Amash has the rhetorical style of someone who really enjoys arguing for the sake of arguing but also benefits from fiercely believing what he says. He also has a wry sense of humor.
"Soon after inauguration day in early 2017, Trump signed a travel ban targeting six majority Muslim countries. Amash — whose mother is a Syrian immigrant and whose father came to America as a Palestinian refugee in 1956 — opposed the executive order.... At the height of the outcry, Amash excused his lateness to a Freedom Caucus meeting one night with a joke.... 'Hey guys. Sorry I'm late,' he said. 'The travel ban got me held up at the airport — they're screening all the Syrians.'"
"Half of the room was amused by the quip. The other half — not so much. It was memorable enough that a lawmaker who also attended the meeting still recalled the episode more than two years later."
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/10/politics/amash-trump-house-republicans-lonely/index.html
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March 10, 2019 - "For most Republicans, life in the House minority is a big change. But for Rep. Justin Amash ... 'It's just a different set of people doing the wrong thing,' the Michigan Republican said in an interview with CNN.
"Amash came to Congress with the Tea Party wave in 2010, and although Republicans controlled the House for the entirety of his congressional career until a few months ago, Amash has long been the odd man out. His firm libertarian stances on foreign policy, surveillance and federal spending put him in an awkward position with many in his own party. And 2 years into Donald Trump's presidency, Amash appears lonelier than ever. His closest allies – conservatives who routinely sparred with the GOP establishment in the past – have coalesced behind Trump....
"The divide was clearer than ever during a February oversight hearing with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. While most Republicans on the panel stuck to Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan's strategy of attacking Cohen's character and playing defense for the President, Amash asked sharp questions designed to draw out information....
"Jordan and Amash were both founding members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline conservatives who preached a focus on cutting government spending and opening up congressional procedure, and clashed with party leaders over it. The three dozen members played a key role in former House Speaker John Boehner's resignation in 2015, and the caucus was instrumental in shaping the House-led GOP effort to repeal Obamacare, which became a centerpiece of Trump's first-year agenda....
"'From the time [President Trump] was elected, I was urging them to remain independent and to be willing to push back against the President where they thought he was wrong,' said Amash. 'They've decided to stick with the President time and again, even where they disagree with him privately'.... Amash was the sole member of the caucus to vote against Trump's use of emergency powers to seize funds for his long-desired wall along the southern border, even though the Freedom Caucus was known for lambasting President Barack Obama's executive maneuvering to get around Congress....
"It hasn't helped that Amash has lost key allies like Raul Labrador, the Idaho lawmaker who left Congress last year to run unsuccessfully for governor of his state, and Mark Sanford, who lost his South Carolina primary to a more Trump-friendly opponent in 2018. Yet Amash reiterated his Freedom Caucus colleagues remain some of his closest friends in Congress.... And members who differ with Amash's stance say he still brings a helpful perspective....
"Amash has the rhetorical style of someone who really enjoys arguing for the sake of arguing but also benefits from fiercely believing what he says. He also has a wry sense of humor.
"Soon after inauguration day in early 2017, Trump signed a travel ban targeting six majority Muslim countries. Amash — whose mother is a Syrian immigrant and whose father came to America as a Palestinian refugee in 1956 — opposed the executive order.... At the height of the outcry, Amash excused his lateness to a Freedom Caucus meeting one night with a joke.... 'Hey guys. Sorry I'm late,' he said. 'The travel ban got me held up at the airport — they're screening all the Syrians.'"
"Half of the room was amused by the quip. The other half — not so much. It was memorable enough that a lawmaker who also attended the meeting still recalled the episode more than two years later."
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/10/politics/amash-trump-house-republicans-lonely/index.html
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