Justin Amash
Constitution first
Liberty, sovereignty, the rule of law.
Rooted National LibertarianOne of 729 ideologies · enter the National Libertarian hall →- Role
- Congressman
- Era
- b. 1980
- Region
- United States
- Social band
- Rooted
- Placement
- +54 · −72 · −22
§ Where Justin Amash stands
3 axesAmash is a market liberal who opposed most new spending, corporate subsidies and economic regulation, often casting lonely votes against bills backed by both parties. He supported Ron Paul's 2012 bill to audit the Federal Reserve and argued for balanced budgets and lower taxes, placing him clearly right of centre on economics.
Civil liberties and constitutional limits were his defining causes. In 2013 the Amash–Conyers amendment to defund the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records failed by only 205 votes to 217, and in 2012 he joined Democrat Adam Smith in an amendment against indefinite military detention. He insisted that Congress, not the president, must authorise war.
Socially Amash leans traditional in personal conviction but frames issues through rights and process rather than culture. A Christian who describes himself as pro-life, he generally treats moral questions as matters for individuals, communities and states, and in 2017 he publicly criticised President Trump's executive order barring travellers from several Muslim-majority countries.
How close are you to Justin Amash?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
LivingJustin Amash (b. 1980) is an American politician who represented Michigan's 3rd congressional district from 2011 to 2021. Born in Grand Rapids to a Palestinian Christian father and a Syrian mother, he studied economics and law at the University of Michigan, worked as a lawyer for his family's tool business and served a term in the Michigan House of Representatives before winning election to Congress in 2010 as a Tea Party-era Republican and admirer of Ron Paul.
Amash became known for explaining every vote online and for voting against his own party's leadership whenever he judged a bill unconstitutional. He was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus in 2015, then broke with President Donald Trump, becoming in 2019 the first Republican in Congress to say Trump had engaged in impeachable conduct. He left the Republican Party that July, voted for impeachment as an independent, and in 2020 joined the Libertarian Party, becoming its first member of Congress, before declining to seek re-election.
Notable for
- 01Libertarian-leaning independent
- 02Constitutional constraints on war
- 03Civil-liberties record
Key works & moments
- 2010Wins election to Congress from Michigan's 3rd district as a Ron Paul-style Republican.
- 2013The Amash–Conyers amendment to defund NSA bulk phone-records collection fails 205–217.
- 2015Becomes a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus.
- 2019Says Trump engaged in impeachable conduct, leaves the Republican Party and votes to impeach as an independent.
- 2020Joins the Libertarian Party, its first member of Congress, and does not seek re-election.
§ Minds closest to Justin Amash
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§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is Justin Amash's political ideology?
Justin Amash is a libertarian constitutionalist who served in Congress as a Republican, an independent and finally a Libertarian: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Rooted National Libertarian. Economically he sits clearly right of centre (+54), favouring spending restraint, deregulation and sound money. On governance he is strongly libertarian (−72), focused on civil liberties, war powers and limits on surveillance, and socially he leans traditional (−22), personally pro-life but focused on process rather than culture wars.
Is Justin Amash left-wing or right-wing?
Right of centre and libertarian, though he has broken with the right as often as with the left. His economic record of opposing spending, subsidies and regulation is firmly conservative, and he is personally pro-life. But he made common cause with Democrats on surveillance and war powers, and in 2019 he became the first Republican in Congress to back Donald Trump's impeachment. He describes himself as a libertarian rather than a conservative.
Why did Justin Amash leave the Republican Party?
Amash left the Republican Party on 4 July 2019, announcing the decision in a Washington Post op-ed in which he described American politics as trapped in a partisan death spiral. Weeks earlier, after reading the Mueller report, he had become the first Republican member of Congress to say that President Trump had engaged in impeachable conduct, drawing attacks from Trump and party leaders. He argued that party loyalty had come to outweigh fidelity to the Constitution, and he served out his term as an independent and then a Libertarian.
Which minds are closest to Justin Amash?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Justin Amash are The Sovereign Nation of Free Men (archetype) (98% alike), Dave Smith (97% alike) and Javier Milei (94% alike). The furthest is Pol Pot (2% alike).