GRAND RAPIDS, MI — U.S. Rep. Justin Amash says he has “paused” his congressional campaign as he considers whether to run for president.

Amash, a former Republican turned independent and critic of President Donald Trump, paused his campaign in mid-February, and has been discussing a potential presidential run “with his family, his friends, his team, and others," according to a statement his office released on Wednesday, April 15.

Speculation that Amash, I-Cascade Township, would jump into the presidential race has swirled for months.

On Monday, the congressman, whose district encompasses the Grand Rapids-area, gave his clearest indication yet that he was considering a run when he announced on Twitter that he’s “looking at it closely this week.”

In prior interviews, Amash, who was elected to represent Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District in 2010, has not definitively ruled out such a run but said his focus was on winning another term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Amash describes himself as a constitutional conservative and a libertarian, and has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump. He was elected as a Republican but left the party in July, and is serving out the remainder of his term as an independent.

Amash drew national headlines in May when he became the first Republican in Congress to call for impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. He said he made the comments after reviewing U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into 2016 election interference.

The congressman’s comments drew an onslaught of criticism, and a few West Michigan Republicans announced that they would challenge him in the August 2020 Republican primary for the 3rd Congressional District.

On July 4, Amash announced he was leaving the Republican Party. He said America’s two-party system “has evolved into an existential threat to American principles and institutions.” He said he would run for reelection as an independent.

The two leading Republican candidates that are vying for the Republican nomination for Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District are state Rep. Lynn Afendoulis, R-Grand Rapids Township, and Peter Meijer, whose family founded the Walker-based retailer Meijer. He has worked in the business and nonprofit sectors.

Hillary Scholten, an immigration attorney, is the leading Democratic candidate.

Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District includes the city of Grand Rapids and a large portion of Kent County, part of Montcalm County, as well as Ionia, Barry and Calhoun counties.

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