| Justin Amash | |
| |
| Second Minority Leader | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Libertarian Party House Leader | |
| Assumed office March 7, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| United States Representative from Michigan's 3rd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Vern Ehlers |
| Biography | |
| Born: | April 18, 1980 (age 41) Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Nationality: | American |
| Political party: | Libertarian Party (2016-Present) Republican Party (Before 2016) |
| Alma mater: | University of Michigan |
| Spouse: | Kara Amash |
| Occupation: | Attorney Politician |
Justin A. Amash (/əˈmɑːʃ/; born April 18, 1980) is an American attorney and Libertarian member of Congress, serving as the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 3rd congressional district since 2011.
In March 2016, Amash switched his party affiliation to the Libertarian Party, joining Representatives Scott Rigell (VA-6), Mark Sanford (SC-1), and Kerry Bentvolio (MI-11). In switching his affiliation, he announced his candidacy for the Libertarian nomination for President, coming in second place to eventual nominee Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico.
Amash has served as the House Leader of the Libertarian congressional caucus since 2016, which currently numbers twenty Representatives. Since January 2021, he has additionally served as Second Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, with the position created as a result of negotiations following the 2020 House elections.
Career[]
House of Representatives[]
Amash was first elected to the House in the 2010 Congressional election. Previously, he served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives representing the 72nd District. At age 30, Amash assumed office as the second youngest sitting U.S. Representative, behind Aaron Schock of Illinois. As a Republican, he chaired the House Liberty Caucus and was affiliated with the Tea Party movement.
When asked by a New York Times reporter to describe his voting methodology, Amash explained: “I follow a set of principles, I follow the Constitution. And that’s what I base my votes on. Limited government, economic freedom, and individual liberty.”
House Liberty Caucus[]
The House Liberty Caucus is a congressional caucus consisting of libertarian, libertarian conservative, and left-libertarian members of the United States House of Representatives. The group was founded by Rep. Amash and joined by Republican members who wanted to "focus on specific issues like economic freedom, individual liberty, and following the Constitution".
115th Congress Since his party switch in the 114th Congress, Amash continued to serve as Chairman; with all three parties represented in the caucus, including every member of the Libertarian Party. As of the 117th Congress, there are 31 members.
House Liberty Caucus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Justin Amash (MI) |
| Founded | January 15, 2007 |
| Ideology | Libertarianism Conservative Libertarianism Classical Liberalism Left-Libertarianism |
| Colors | Black, White, Yellow |
| Seats in the House | 31 / 435 |
Legislation[]
In each session of Congress Amash has been elected to, he has proposed legislation abolishing the Export-Import Bank, the federal export credit agency.
In the 115th Congress, Amash's proposed Civil Asset Forfeiture Prohibition Act has gained tripartisan traction among Libertarians, progressive Democrats, and small-government Republicans.
2016 Presidential Campaign[]
Main Article: Justin Amash Presidential Campaign, 2016 (The More Things Changed)
Amash was as an early and vocal opponent of eventual Republican nominee Donald Trump. Amash has also said about Trump that he “cares about power, he doesn’t really care about things like the Constitution."
When it became clear that Trump would win the Republican nomination, Amash switched his party affiliation to the Libertarian Party and announced his candidacy for the party's presidential nomination, arguing that he would have a stronger campaign against Trump and Clinton than former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.
Despite his late start to the nomination race, Amash emerged as Johnson's greatest challenger, eventually winning 11 primary states.
He fully endorsed Johnson at the Libertarian National Convention in Orlando, and campaigned heavily for him across the country during the general election campaign.
Libertarian House Leader[]
During his announcement speech for his presidential candidacy and switch to the Libertarian Party, Amash stated:
It's clear the two major parties are a problem. That became more clear to me when I entered Congress, and now I've been in Congress for a few years. I can see that a lot of the inability to move forward on more libertarian ideas is because we have this two-party system that really controls all of the levers.
Amash currently leads the 20-member Libertarian Caucus in the House of Representatives.
Role of the Libertarian Party[]
With the switch in affiliations of Amash, Rigell, and Sanford, the Libertarian Party became the first third party to have multiple members in the House of Representatives since 1943. (While multiple members of the Working Families Party have been elected to the House, they had all been cross-nominated and were elected as members of the Democratic Party.) When deciding what role the party should take, Amash stated that the party would not be in a coalition with the majority or opposition, but would take a role akin to the crossbenchers of the Parliament of Australia.
Committee Assignments[]
In negotiations for committee assignments in the 115th Congress, Amash announced that Libertarian committee members would receive equal time as other members. While the most senior member of the minority delegation on a committee would continue to be known as the Ranking Member or Vice-Chair, the leader of the Libertarian delegation would receive the title of Second Ranking Member, or alternately Vice-Chair.
2020 House Elections[]
Main Article: United States House of Representatives Elections, 2020 (The More Things Changed)
Heading into the 2020 elections, the Libertarians held 12 seats in the House and fielded candidates in nearly 200 districts. Of these, 40 seats were listed as "top-tier targets" by the Libertarian National Committee (LNC). With the party's rapid growth in previous years, in addition to the party's presidential nominee Larry Sharpe polling over three times higher than Johnson did in 2016, Amash cited his belief in a "gold rush" of support. Ultimately, the Libertarians would expand their seats to 20, falling short of their expectations but continuing their growth.
Negotiations[]
By November 5th, 2020, it had become clear that no single party would receive a majority in the House. On November 6th, Minority Leader Jim Clyburn (SC-6) and several members of Democratic caucus leadership met with Amash and other Libertarian members in the Cannon House Office Building. The group emerged on November 9th with a list of goals and principles for the 117th Congress, including the protection of LGBT rights, voting rights, and a moratorium on tax increases for the 117th Congress.
On November 12th, 2020, Amash and Rigell met privately with incumbent Speaker Jim Jordan (OH-4) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), where the Libertarians received assurances from Jordan that their deal with the Democrats would be honored in exchange for supporting Jordan for Speaker, which was accepted. As part of the agreement, the position of Second Minority Leader would be created for Amash.
Second Minority Leader[]
The negotiated rules of the House delegated a number of specific responsibilities to the Second Minority Leader: among them, the right to select party members for committees, including Second Ranking Members; the the right to offer a motion to recommit with instructions; the right to have the Inspector General appointed with his advice, in addition to the Speaker, Majority Leader, and Minority Leader, and the right to appoint individuals to certain federal and congressional entities.