GOP expected to strip Justin Amash of Oversight Committee seat

Newly independent Rep. Justin Amash is expected to be kicked out of the GOP conference and lose his committee assignment this week, according to multiple Republican sources familiar with the matter.

The House GOP will likely move this week to formally remove Amash, who announced his departure from the party in a scathing Washington Post op-ed on July 4th. Once that happens, the Michigan lawmaker will automatically lose his committee seat and the Steering Committee will make a recommendation about who should fill the vacancy.

Amash, who became the lone Republican to call for President Trump’s impeachment in May, confirmed over the weekend that he will no longer caucus with the House GOP and acknowledged that his seat on the House Oversight Committee will likely be in jeopardy.

It will be up to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to decide whether to put him back on any committees.

Amash still plans to run as an independent to represent his Grand Rapids-area district, where he would have faced at least four primary challengers who were eager to pounce on Amash for his act of defiance against Trump and the party. His decision to leave the GOP, which Amash said he was considering even before former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report was released, now clears the way for the House GOP’s campaign arm to get involved in the Republican primary.

Amash has also not ruled out a presidential bid against Trump in 2020, which could potentially siphon away votes from Trump in Michigan — a swing state critical to the president’s reelection bid.

Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine