Rep. Justin Amash quit the Republican Party on Thursday, using the Independence Day holiday to declare his rebellion against the poison of party politics.

The Michigan lawmaker had been the sole Republican in Congress publicly backing impeachment of President Trump and had been largely marginalized by the GOP for that.

In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Mr. Amash called on voters to follow his lead.

“No matter your circumstance, I’m asking you to join me in rejecting the partisan loyalties and rhetoric that divide and dehumanize us,” he wrote. “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.”

It’s likely Republicans in Congress will oust him from his lone committee assignment on the Oversight Committee, and his move creates an opening for a Republican candidate to run against him in the general election next year.

Mr. Amash’s decision, however, could also be a signal that he’s looking to make a long-shot run at the White House as an independent or, perhaps, a third-party nominee.

Mr. Trump cheered Mr. Amash’s departure on Twitter.

“Great news for the Republican Party as one of the dumbest & most disloyal men in Congress is ‘quitting’ the Party,” the president tweeted. “A total loser!”

Mr. Trump said Mr. Amash would have struggled to win a Republican primary for his seat next year.

In Congress, Mr. Amash was firmly on the libertarian side of the GOP and frequently clashed with his own party over spending and national security matters.

In his op-ed, he recounted his path to disillusionment.

Mr. Amash, who was born in the United States, described his father coming to America as a Palestinian refugee when he was a teen.

“My parents, both immigrants, were Republicans. I supported Republican candidates throughout my early adult life and then successfully ran for office as a Republican. The Republican Party, I believed, stood for limited government, economic freedom and individual liberty — principles that had made the American Dream possible for my family.

“In recent years, though, I’ve become disenchanted with party politics and frightened by what I see from it. The two-party system has evolved into an existential threat to American principles and institutions.”

Mr. Amash has served the 3rd Congressional District in Michigan since winning in the 2010 tea party wave election.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.