Justin Amash Biography

Justin Amash was born to Arab Christian immigrant parents on April 18, 1980, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The second-born child of his parents, he has two brothers. His father, Attallah Amash, and his family, were forced to move out of their home in Ramla during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and eventually moved to the US in 1956.

He attended the Kelloggsville Christian School in Kentwood and then the Grand Rapids Christian High School, from where he graduated as class valedictorian in 1998. He then graduated magna cum laude with a BA in economics from the University of Michigan.

Amash also bagged a Juris Doctor degree in 2005, from the University of Michigan Law School. He began his legal career with Varnum LLP and then worked as a consultant business lawyer with Michigan Industrial Tools Inc., a firm founded by his father.

In 2008, Justin Amash was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives and worked in the position till 2010. From January 2011 to January 2021, he represented Michigan's 3rd district in the US House of Representatives.

From 2011 to 2012, he served on various House committees, too, such as the Joint Economic Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and several subcommittees, too, such as those on financial services, federal workforce, and government organization.

In March 2012, he became one of two Republicans, the other being Tim Huelskamp, who voted against the budget plan proposed by Paul Ryan in the House Budget Committee. They stated that the plan, according to them, did not cut the budget. In December 2012, it was announced that both representatives will not be associated with the House Budget Committee in the 113th Congress.

From 2013 to 2014, Amash served on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee; the Subcommittee on Government Operations; the Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations; and the Joint Economic Committee.

Between 2015 and 2016, he was associated with the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets.

From 2017 to 2018, he worked with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, while working with the 115th Congress.

Between 2019 and 2020, at the beginning of the 116th Congress, Justin Amash worked with the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He was made part of the committee in 2011 but resigned on July 8, 2019. Following his resignation, he was left with no US House committee assignments. He was also a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, the Liberty Caucus, and the Second Amendment Caucus.

He joined the Libertarian Party in 2020.  He thus became the first Libertarian Party member to be part of either house of Congress. In April 2020, after hinting that he might enter the presidential race, he announced the formation of a committee to seek the Libertarian presidential nomination. In May that year, he withdrew his name from the Libertarian nomination, stating political polarization and the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as the reasons of his decision.

Justin Amash is known for his dependence on Facebook and other social media platforms for explaining his work, thus ensuring transparency and accountability to his voters. He has often criticized government overspending, especially military spending, and considers it a major threat to the economic health and national security of the US. He is also against government funding for abortions.

He thus launched a balanced budget amendment, the Business Cycle Balanced Budget Amendment, to control government expenditure and national debt. He has also promoted a fair tax code and an environment supporting economic prosperity.

He is also known for his defense of civil liberties in the US and has often criticized unconstitutional methods and acts, such as mass collection of all phone records, indefinite detention rules in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and the American Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).

He has supported cannabis law reforms. He has, however, been against the Environmental Protection Agency and has stated that he finds its environmental laws too restrictive. In 2017, he voted in favor of repealing Obamacare. He has also been against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In fact, he once stated he would fight for transgender rights, if he was ever elected president.

In-spite of being a Republican, he is known for his marked opposition to former US President Donald Trump. On October 31, 2019, he became the only non-Democrat in the US House who voted favor of an impeachment inquiry against Trump, with respect to the Trump-Ukraine scandal. In 2017, Amash opposed Trump's executive order of banning citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.

Justin Amash met his wife Kara Day when they attended high school together. The couple got married soon after graduating from college.

They live in Cascade Charter Township. Kara is a graduate from Calvin College and has been an elementary school teacher before. The couple has three children: a son and two daughters.