The DeVos family, one of Michigan’s most powerful, announced Wednesday that it is no longer supporting Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) in the wake of his remarks on President Donald Trump and impeachment.
The family, which includes Department of Education Secretary Besty DeVos, has not made any contributions to the Michigan congressman this cycle and “they have no plans to do so,” family spokesman Nick Wasmiller said in a statement to The Detroit News.
“Family members have expressed increasing concerns about a lack of representation for their district, the Third Congressional, and I would say an inability to advance efforts connected to important policy matters,” Wasmiller added, noting that Amash’s call for impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump has “not changed the family’s thinking regarding its intent to not provide future support.”
Amash, a libertarian-leaning congressman often at odds with his fellow Republicans, set off a firestorm Saturday after accusing President Donald Trump of engaging in “impeachable” conduct and claiming Attorney General William Barr mischaracterized special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on now-debunked collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia — echoing claims made by Democrats on Capitol Hill.
“Contrary to Barr’s portrayal, Mueller’s report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meets the threshold for impeachment,” Amash tweeted. The lawmaker then argued that Mueller’s 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.”
Contrary to the Michigan Republican’s assertions, the special counsel found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russia government or its cut-outs. Further, the attorney general said Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether President Trump obstructed justice, stating that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined that the president had not done so.
The House Freedom Caucus on Monday evening voted to condemn Amash, one of the group’s founding members, over his recent remarks. House Oversight Committee ranking member Jim Jordan (R-OH), who previously served as chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said that all 30 members in attendance at the caucus’s weekly meeting voted for the measure. “It was every single person who totally disagrees with what he says,” said Jordan. “What concerns me is Justin was viewed as a leader, right, on protecting privacy rights first to First Amendment rights.”
President Trump took aim at Amash in a pair of tweets Sunday, calling him a “loser” and a lightweight.”
“Never a fan of @justinamash, a total lightweight who opposes me and some of our great Republican ideas and policies just for the sake of getting his name out there through controversy, the president tweeted on Sunday. “Justin is a loser who sadly plays right into our opponents [sic] hands!”
Meanwhile, Michigan State Rep. Jim Lower (R) announced on Monday he will mount a primary challenge to Amash. He was expected to officially launch his campaign around July 4th, but moved up the announcement in the wake of the congressman’s comments.