On the Faithful and the Feckless

The American Republic cannot defend itself. This is especially true when members of one major political party decide to either pledge their loyalty to a would-be dictator masquerading as president or to slink away when that same tyrant-in-the-making says nasty things about them on social media. Both are forms of political perfidy that make a mockery of the oath federal lawmakers take to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Those who remain faithful to the Republic despite the political costs are the authentic political leaders and exemplars we should support and emulate.

It seems like a lifetime ago, but it's been just over six years since then-Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) became the first elected GOP member to call for Donald Trump's impeachment. The issue was Trump's efforts to obstruct then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether and by what means Vladimir Putin's regime had tried to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

As an attorney himself, Amash had concluded--based on his review of the publicly redacted version of Mueller's report and other sources--that Trump had engaged in obstruction of justice. After the Michigan lawmaker posted his findings on Twitter (now known as X), he became the target of Trump's fury. It was hardly the first time Amash had publicly opposed Trump's policy positions or executive actions (see this list), but it was by far the most dramatic and consequential.

Between late May and October 2019, Amash went from being all but isolated within the House GOP to leaving it outright--first as an independent, and by 2020 as the country's first self-described libertarian House member. He decided not to seek reelection and has not held elective office since, but he has continued to attack Trump's attempts to subvert the Constitution, specifically on the issue of birthright citizenship.

Amash's former House colleagues Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were late comers to the committed "Never Trumper" GOP faction, with Trump's orchestration of the January 6, 2021, attempted coup being the catalyst for both to break with Trump permanently.

As I noted in a book review piece last year on both of their memoirs, Kinzinger's is the far more confessional of the two--but once both had made the decision to call for and vote for Trump's impeachment, they've never looked back. They've also endured ongoing attacks by Trump and his surrogates, including death threats against themselves and their family members.

None of that deterred them from supporting Kamala Harris against Trump during the 2024 election, and both remain active opponents of Trump 2.0, with Kinzinger using his commentator position on CNN, his Substack, and his social media platforms to attack Trump literally daily.

Their fealty to the Constitution and the Republic in the face of such sustained and serious threats stands in contrast to the Monty Python-esque "Run away! Run away!" posture of soon to be former Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC).

After voting against a procedural motion on Trump's "One big, beautiful bill," America's petulant chief executive immediately called for Tillis to be primaried in 2026. Before the weekend was over, Tillis raised the white flag and announced he wouldn't seek reelection in 2026.

That same story on Tillis' decision to exit the Senate at the end of this Congress also contained this paragraph:

He privately warned colleagues in a Senate Republican lunch last week that the megabill’s approach to Medicaid would cause him to lose his race next year, remarks first reported by POLITICO. GOP colleagues chalked up Tillis’ private warnings to his fears of a tough general election in the swing state, where popular former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper could be a formidable candidate.

The oath that House and Senate members take does not say they will "preserve, protect, and defend Medicaid, the Pentagon budget, and other discretionary or entitlement programs." Upholding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is literally Job #1 for all 535 members of Congress.

Tillis's focus on a programmatic issue in connection with his reelection chances instead of Trump's ongoing attempts to literally destroy the constitutional order has been appalling to watch, particularly since Tillis serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The one thing we now know is that come November 2026, North Carolina voters will have a chance to choose a new senator. Let's pray they pick one who actually reads and lives by their oath of office.

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