Kamala Harris praises Republican Justin Amash for Trump impeachment call

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) praised Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) during an MSNBC town hall Tuesday night for putting "country before party" by saying President Trump had engaged in impeachable conduct.

What he has done is what we need more people in the United States Congress to do, put country before party."

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Why it matters: Amash is the only Republican in Congress to support impeachment, and he isn't backing down from his controversial position, accusing Attorney General Bill Barr earlier Tuesday of intentionally misrepresenting the Mueller report to help further Trump's "false narrative" about the special counsel's investigation.

• Amash defended his stance at his own town hall at Grand Rapids Christian High School in Michigan Tuesday evening.
• During her MSNBC town hall in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Harris said there was a clear lack of support from Republicans on the issue — particularly from those in the Senate. She also doubled down on her support for taking steps toward impeaching Trump.

"There is a clear track record of this president and members of his administration obstructing justice. Not to mention what we have seen from the current attorney general of the United States, who I questioned in connection with the Judiciary Committee, who clearly thinks his job is to represent the president and his peculiar interests as opposed to representing the people of the country in which we live. So there is a lot of work to do and I plan on seeing it through."

The big picture: At the town hall, Harris formally unveiled her plan for if she's elected to require states trying to restrict abortion access to pre-clear any new reproductive health laws with the Department of Justice. She also covered a range of issues, discussing with moderator Lawrence O'Donnell issues such as "Medicare for All" and racial profiling.

Sen. Harris on racial profiling and discrimination

Sen. Harris: "People who hold the highest levels of leadership should be in the business of unifying our country, not dividing our country. And as far as I'm concerned, we've got a president who's not trying to make America great, he's trying to make America hate" #KamalaTownHall

Posted by MSNBC on Tuesday, May 28, 2019

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