Justin Amash, Republican turned Libertarian and outspoken Trump critic, will not seek reelection

Rep. Justin Amash, a Libertarian from Michigan, will not be seeking reelection for his House seat.

A top aide on Thursday confirmed the congressman's decision to The Detroit News. Amash later confirmed the decision, tweeting, "I love representing our community in Congress. I always will. This is my choice, but I'm still going to miss it. Thank you for your trust."

Amash, who has been in Congress for five terms, left the Republican Party last year to become an Independent. In April, he joined the Libertarian Party, of which he is the only member in Congress. 

The congressman has been an outspoken force against the president. He was the only House Republican to support and vote for the articles of impeachment against President Trump. 

Just after joining the Libertarian party in April, Amash formed an exploratory committee for a presidential bid but gave up that idea after five weeks. In May, he tweeted, "After much reflection, I've concluded that circumstances don't lend themselves to my success as a candidate for president this year, and therefore I will not be a candidate." 

Amash was a founding member of the Congressional Freedom Caucus and formerly one of the most conservative members of the Republican Party in Congress. He renounced his party membership in July 2019, citing the "partisan death spiral" of politics in Washington.

Several Republicans were vying to unseat Amash in 2020, citing the need for a Republican representative who would work with the president.

No Democrat has represented Michigan's 3rd congressional district since 1976. However, this year, Democrat Hillary Scholten out-raised her Republican opponents last quarter.

Scholten is running unopposed in her primary, while there remain five Republican candidates in the race whose fundraising was also strong last quarter.

There was some speculation in April, when Amash first made the decision to pause his congressional reelection campaign, that the numbers in his district had turned against him and it was unlikely that he would win a sixth term, should he seek one.