Trump critic Amash announces he is leaving Republican Party: 'I am declaring my independence'

WASHINGTON — A frequent critic of President Donald Trump is saying farewell to the Republican Party.

In a Washington Post op-ed published Thursday, U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan said he's leaving the GOP to escape the "partisan death spiral."

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"Preserving liberty means telling the Republican Party and the Democratic Party that we'll no longer let them play their partisan game at our expense," wrote Amash, who is now an independent.

"Today, I am declaring my independence and leaving the Republican Party. No matter your circumstance, I’m asking you to join me in rejecting the partisan loyalties and rhetoric that divide and dehumanize us."

Amash, the only Republican in Congress who has called Trump's actions impeachable, also called for others to abandon partisanship.

"I'm asking you to believe that we can do better than this two-party system – and to work toward it," he wrote in the op-ed. "If we continue to take America for granted, we will lose it."

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