Amash breaks with GOP in Barr, Ross contempt vote

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), the only Republican in Congress to come out in favor of starting impeachment proceedings against President Trump, broke with his party again on Wednesday with a committee vote to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt.

Amash joined Democrats to vote in favor of the contempt resolution, which was in relation to subpoenaed documents on the Trump administration’s addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

Amash had also sided with Democrats in votes over which amendments to add to the contempt resolution.

The Republican stepped down from the conservative Freedom Caucus this week after going public with his impeachment comments. The group is typically pro-Trump.

Amash had not voted in favor of a House resolution on Tuesday that authorized House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) to go to court to enforce congressional subpoenas.

The lawmaker tweeted that he opposed the resolution because it “shifts to leadership the power to authorize future enforcement lawsuits, further centralizing the House’s authority and undermining the institution.”