Freshman Democrats want conservative Rep. Justin Amash to be an impeachment manager

Justin Amash.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

He's a conservative voice against President Trump, and that's just one of the reasons why 30 freshman Democrats want Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) to serve as an impeachment manager in Trump's likely Senate trial.

Several Democratic officials told The Washington Post that the lawmakers believe Amash, a libertarian who left the Republican Party earlier this year, could reach conservatives in a way Democrats just can't. "There couldn't be anyone perhaps in the entire U.S. House ... whose general political views are as polar opposite from many of us in the Democratic caucus, and that's what makes it such a powerful statement: that on the issue of our responsibility to our Constitution, we are perfectly aligned," Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) told the Post.

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Amash is a former lawyer who is quick to call out Trump and his Republican allies. After Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told CNN he's "not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here," Amash tweeted that Graham "has chosen to violate his oath to support and defend the Constitution, his oath to do impartial justice in an impeachment trial, and his duty to represent all the people of his state, not just those who share his political views or desire a particular outcome."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.