Justin Amash

Justin Amash
Amash in 2023
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 3rd district
In office
January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2021
Preceded byVern Ehlers
Succeeded byPeter Meijer
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 72nd district
In office
January 14, 2009 – January 1, 2011
Preceded byGlenn Steil
Succeeded byKen Yonker
Personal details
Born (1980-04-18) April 18, 1980 (age 43)
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (before 2019, 2024–present)[1]
Independent (2019–2020)
Libertarian (2020–2024)
SpouseKara Day
Children3
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BA, JD)

Justin A. Amash[2] (/əˈmɑːʃ/ ə-MAHSH;[3] born April 18, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 3rd congressional district from 2011 to 2021. He was the second Palestinian-American member of Congress.[a] Originally a Republican, Amash left the GOP and became an independent on July 4, 2019.[5] In April 2020, he joined the Libertarian Party, leaving Congress in January 2021 as the only Libertarian to serve in Congress.

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Amash was born to Palestinian and Syrian Christian parents who had immigrated to the United States. After high school, he studied economics at the University of Michigan, graduated from the University of Michigan Law School, and briefly worked as a corporate lawyer and consultant before entering politics.

Amash represented the 72nd district in the Michigan House of Representatives for one term before being elected to Congress in 2010. He was the founder and chairperson of the Liberty Caucus and was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, which he left in June 2019. Amash received national attention when he became the first Republican congressman to call for the impeachment of Donald Trump, a position he maintained after leaving the party.

Amash formed an exploratory committee to seek the Libertarian Party presidential nomination in the 2020 election, before announcing in May of that year that he would not run for president. He did not seek reelection to Congress in 2020.

On February 29, 2024, Amash announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Michigan.[6]

  1. ^ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/justin-amash-michigan-gop-senate-primary-rcna141175
  2. ^ Congressional Directory (PDF). 2020. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Biography". U.S. Representative Justin Amash. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  4. ^ "Reuters Corrects: Rashida Tlaib Not First Palestinian-American in Congress". Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. July 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Welch, Matt (July 4, 2019). "Justin Amash Declares Independence From Republican Party". Reason.
  6. ^ "Former Rep. Justin Amash enters Michigan's jumbled GOP Senate primary". NBC News. February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.


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