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This prompted Jim Lower, a representative of the state of Michigan who had previously supported Amash, to announce Monday that he would attend the Republican primaries next year.
Lower said he planned to announce his candidacy in July, but announced the announcement after Amash 's comments.
"At the time, I believed in what he was doing, but now this is no longer the case," he said. "I have just been very disenchanted."
But Amash's remarks were a surprise to anyone who is following him closely.
He was the first Republican to support an independent investigation into the 2016 elections and Russia's interference. He was the first Republican to say in 2017 that the fact that Trump prevented justice from dismissing former FBI director James Comey could be an impenetrable offense. And more recently, he has attracted attention by being the only Republican to ask serious questions in order to reveal potential wrongdoing at a February hearing with Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
He also drew the condemnations of the President of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel – "The only people who remain attached to the hoax of collusion with Russia are the political enemies of President Trump who hope to defeat him in 2020 by all means possible" , she said. Kevin McCarthy, who argued that Amash was simply trying to attract attention.
"The question is, is he even in the whole of our Republican conference.What he wants is the attention in this process," he said. McCarthy on Fox News. "He has never supported the president, and I think he's just trying to attract attention."
Mr. Amash and his staff have so far withstood a flood of requests for media interviews since his remarks this weekend.
The question now is what Amash will do next.
In 2018, Amash was reelected with 54.4% of the vote, after a smooth beating in the GOP primary. It is clear that his run in 2020, when he chooses to run again, will not be that simple.
If there is something important to watch after Amash's remarks this weekend, it is to decide whether Amash, as a leading libertarian who commands the country's cult, could decide to launch a challenge to Trump in 2020, rather than running for his seat again.
Amash has created an independent brand since the beginning of his political career. He has long envisioned running for the presidency as a third party candidate or to separate completely from the Republican party.
In the already crowded 2020 field, an independent candidate benefiting from a pre-existing support base among conservative voters could complicate Trump's path to victory.
"Now, is it possible for anyone to make things happen and make a difference?" he added. "I do not know."
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