Amash, who was elected in the tea party wave of 2010, embraced libertarian principles and repeatedly broke with his party on major issues and even the mundane before he challenged the president. A few hours after Amash’s declaration, Trump derided him in a tweet: “Great news for the Republican Party as one of the dumbest & most disloyal men in Congress is ‘quitting’ the Party. A total loser!”House Republican leaders had no immediate response to Amash quitting the party. He has acknowledged that he is instead considering running for president as a member of the Libertarian Party. Amash also left the conservative House Freedom Caucus, a group he helped found four years ago.

Source: Washington Post July 04, 2019 10:36 UTC