House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) was “just looking for attention” when he called for President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
Rep. Amash enflamed controversy on Saturday when he called for the impeachment of Donald Trump, contending that the president obstructed justice, despite Attorney General William Barr’s conclusion that there was insufficient evidence in the Robert Mueller report to substantiate an obstruction of justice charge.
Amash said that the Mueller report “identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence.”
Leader McCarthy said that Amash’s remarks were “disturbing” and speculated whether the libertarian-leaning Republican was attempting to gain some media coverage.
“Maybe he wants some type of exit strategy. But it’s very disturbing. This is exactly what you would expect. He never supported the president, and I think he’s just looking for attention,” McCarthy said.
“He votes more with Nancy Pelosi than he ever votes with me. It’s a question whether he’s even in our Republican conference as a whole,” McCarthy said.
“You could have a bill with a 400 vote all supporting it. There will always be one opposed, and that is Justin Amash,” the California Republican said.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) said he “strongly disagreed” with Amash, and Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) — a former chairman of the House Republican Study Committee — compared Amash to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted Saturday, saying that Amash’s constituents would rather work with the president instead of opposing him.
“Voters in Amash’s district strongly support this President, and would rather their Congressman work to support the President’s policies that have brought jobs, increased wages and made life better for Americans,” McDaniel said.
Rep. Amash was also one of the first congressmen to raise the prospect of impeaching President Trump, saying that if reports that President Donald Trump removed former FBI Director James Comey to end an investigation prove correct, then that would merit impeachment.
In response to Amash’s incendiary remarks, President Donald Trump called Amash a “loser.”
“Justin is a loser who sadly plays right into our opponents’ hands!” Trump tweeted.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
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