Rep. Justin Amash, L-Mich., who briefly considered running for president earlier this year, doesn’t intend to seek reelection, a top aide said Thursday, according to a report.
“He hasn’t been campaigning for any office and doesn’t plan to seek the nomination for any office,” adviser Poppy Nelson told The Detroit News.
Amash, a five-term congressman and outspoken critic of President Trump, left the Republican Party last year, became an Independent and joined the Libertarian Party in April. He is the first Libertarian in Congress.
JUSTIN AMASH FORMS EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE FOR POTENTIAL WHITE HOUSE RUN AS LIBERTARIAN
“I love representing our community in Congress. I always will. This is my choice, but I’m still going to miss it,” Amash tweeted late Thursday in an apparent confirmation. “Thank you for your trust.”
Amash was the only Republican to support Trump’s impeachment and, as an Independent, he voted for the articles of impeachment against the president last year.
Amash helped found the Freedom Caucus and is one of the most conservative members of Congress but left both the Republican Party and Freedom Caucus last July, claiming that politics are in a “partisan death spiral.”
He formed an exploratory committee for a presidential bid soon after joining the Libertarian Party in April but gave up the idea after five weeks.
“After much reflection, I’ve concluded that circumstances don’t lend themselves to my success as a candidate for president this year, and therefore I will not be a candidate,” Amash tweeted in May.
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The filing deadline for Libertarian candidates in Michigan is Monday, according to The Detroit News.
“You can definitely quote me saying that we hope he runs again,” Jim Turney, a previous chair of the national Libertarian Party, told The Detroit News. “I feel pretty confident that applies to every member of the Libertarian Party, no matter where they live.”
