Rep. Justin Amash Justin AmashInternal Democratic poll shows tight race in contest to replace Amash Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill On The Trail: How Nancy Pelosi could improbably become president MORE (Mich.), who announced last week that he was leaving the GOP to become an independent, said Sunday that "high-level" Republican officials have thanked him for his support of impeachment proceedings against President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE.

Amash, who had been the only GOP member of Congress to support impeachment proceedings against the president, made the comments while appearing on CNN's "State of the Union."

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Asked by host Jake Tapper Jacob (Jake) Paul TapperThe media's misleading use of COVID-19 data Julia Louis-Dreyfus: 'We can't spend much time grieving' Ginsburg Pence aide dismisses concerns rushed vote on Trump nominee will hurt vulnerable senators MORE what he's been hearing privately from Republicans following his decision to leave the party, Amash said people have texted and called him to say "thank you for what you’re doing."

"When I was discussing impeachment, I had fellow colleagues and other Republicans, high-level officials, contacting me, saying, 'Thank you for what you’re doing,'" he added. "So there are lots of Republicans out there who are saying these things privately, but there not saying it publicly, and I think that’s a problem for our country."

Rep. Amash on the responses from fellow Republicans: “There are lots of Republicans out there who are saying ... things privately, but they’re not saying it publicly. And I think that’s a problem for our country ... the Republican Party [and] the Democratic Party” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/sD0CbNOx89 — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 7, 2019

"It’s a problem for the Republican Party, it’s a problem for the Democratic Party when people aren’t allowed to speak out. So I think we really need the American people to stand up and say, 'Hey. Enough is enough. We’ve had it with these two parties trying to ram their partisan nonsense down our throats.'"

Amash announced he was leaving the Republican Party in an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Independence Day.

"Today, I am declaring my independence and leaving the Republican Party," Amash wrote. "No matter your circumstance, I’m asking you to join me in rejecting the partisan loyalties and rhetoric that divide and dehumanize us. I’m asking you to believe that we can do better than this two-party system — and to work toward it. If we continue to take America for granted, we will lose it."

Amash said in late May that some of his Republican colleagues had sympathized with his remarks on impeachment.