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Michigan Rep. Justin Amash Won't Rule Out 2020 Presidential Run

July 8, 2019 / 9:42 AM EDT / CBS Detroit

(CBS DETROIT/CNN) -- Newly independent Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, the only congressional Republican to have publicly argued that President Donald Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct, told CNN that high-level party officials have thanked him behind closed doors for his stance on impeachment proceedings against Trump.

"I get people sending me text messages, people calling me, saying 'thank you for what you're doing,'" Amash told CNN's Jake Tapper in a wide-ranging interview on "State of the Union" Sunday. "They're not saying it publicly. And I think that's a problem for our country, it's a problem for the Republican Party, it's a problem for the Democratic Party when people aren't allowed to speak out."

Amash, who announced Thursday he was leaving the GOP, said that he has had problems with the Republican Party "for several years,"and that he would leave even if Trump were not president. "I don't think there is anyone in there who could change the system," Amash said.

CNN's interview with Amash comes days after he announced in a Washington Post op-ed, "Today, I am declaring my independence and leaving the Republican Party."

"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," he wrote. "If we continue to take America for granted, we will lose it."

Amash didn't mention the President by name, but his decision to abandon the party comes after months of escalating criticism not just of Trump but of his own colleagues for their failure to hold the President to account, specifically for the actions detailed in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the 2016 election and its aftermath.

On his 2020 plans

The Michigan lawmaker's break with the Republican Party added fuel to growing speculation that he will seek the Libertarian Party nomination and launch a long-shot bid for president in 2020, which he has not ruled out. When asked by Tapper on Sunday about a possible presidential bid, Amash repeated that he "wouldn't rule anything like that out" but said he could not put a timeline on his decision.

Amash was critical Sunday of Trump's impact on the country during his presidency, namely calling out Trump for divisiveness.

"What the President is doing is actually lowering the tone across the country, he's harming civil discourse, he's creating a lot of partisan divide -- he's enhancing it. And I think that's very dangerous for our country and I don't think a lot of people appreciate it," he said.

Amash told Tapper that he is still "very confident" that he can win his congressional seat in Michigan as an independent.

"When I go back to my district people are coming up to me and saying, 'Thank you for what you're doing,'" Amash said. "People want open, honest representation. They want people to come to Congress and work with integrity."