Jul 4, 2019

Justin Amash leaves the GOP

David Nather

Amash at a town hall meeting in May. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Rep. Justin Amash, the only Republican who supports impeaching President Trump, announced in a Washington Post op-ed this morning that he's leaving the Republican Party and "declaring my independence."

Between the lines: The Michigan congressman faced a primary challenge over his support for impeachment that would have been tough, if not impossible, for him to win. This way, the libertarian-leaning Amash can try to keep his seat as an independent or go out on his own terms. "Preserving liberty means telling the Republican Party and the Democratic Party that we’ll no longer let them play their partisan game at our expense," he wrote.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 1,513,358 — Total deaths: 88,415 — Total recoveries: 329,329 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 430,376 — Total deaths: 14,739 — Total recoveries: 23,707 — Map.
  3. Federal government latest: Top Trump administration officials had been developing a plan to give cloth masks to huge numbers of Americans, but the idea lost traction amid heavy internal skepticism.
  4. States latest: New York has reported more cases than the most-affected countries in Europe. Chicago's Cook County jail is largest-known source of coronavirus in U.S.
  5. Business: One-third of U.S. jobs are at risk of disappearing, mostly affecting low-income workers.
  6. World: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries to put politics aside "if you don’t want to have many more body bags.”
  7. Environment: COVID-19 is underscoring the connection between air pollution and dire outcomes from respiratory diseases.
  8. Tech: A new report recommends stimulus spending to help close the digital divide revealed by social distancing.
  9. What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
  10. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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