Former GOP congressman expresses interest in serving as House speaker, receives support from liberal governor

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A former GOP congressman has expressed interest in serving as the next speaker of the House of Representatives, garnering support from Colorado Democrat Gov. Jared Polis.

In a Friday tweet, Justin Amash, who left the Republican Party in 2019 and now considers himself a libertarian, provided a list of things he would do if he were to serve as speaker, including “push for single-issue bills; let committees work through bills without interference; ensure rules are followed, not regularly suspended/waived/ignored; allow amendments from the floor; give members adequate time to review bills; and ask for recorded votes.”

Amash, who represented Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District in the House from 2011 to 2021, was among the first Republicans to support impeachment efforts against former President Donald Trump.

Shortly after Amash made the remarks, Polis, who was re-elected earlier this month to a four-year term to serve as Colorado’s governor, offered his support for Amash as speaker.

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“A Speaker Amash would let the duly elected members of Congress do the work they were elected to do with real opportunities for members on both sides of the aisle to contribute to a better outcome that truly represents the sum of the best ideas from members of the people’s house,” Polis wrote in a tweet.

Fox News Digital reached out to Polis’ office in an attempt to garner more information on his support for Amash, but he was unavailable to comment.

Earlier this week, Amash tweeted that he would be “happy to serve as a nonpartisan speaker” should no party in Congress earn a sufficient amount of votes to elect a speaker of the House.

“If neither party has the votes to elect a speaker of the House, I’d be happy to serve as a nonpartisan speaker who ensures the institution works as it’s supposed to — a place where all ideas are welcome and where outcomes are discovered through the process, not dictated from above,” Amash wrote in a Tuesday tweet.

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Amash also criticized current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is expected to serve as the next speaker of the House and won the Republicans’ designation for House speaker on Tuesday.

The speaker must receive a majority vote to be elected to lead the House, and with Republicans’ slim majority, McCarthy may have difficulty gaining all 218 votes needed.

While questions remain over McCarthy’s ability to lock up the spot on the floor in January, Amash said he “isn’t qualified to be leading anything, let alone the House of Representatives.”

“He’s been the top Republican for a while,” Amash said. “We know who he is. We know what he’ll do. Now’s your chance to boot him. Anyone voting for him isn’t serious about taking on the establishment.”

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Amash has also suggested that a Republican or Democrat speaker “will be even more partisan with a thin majority” and will “crack down on anyone breaking from the party line.”

“It’s precisely the kind of situation that calls for an outside speaker, one with experience in Congress,” he added.