GRAND RAPIDS, MI — After profitable election in 2020, Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer went to Washington keen to advertise conservative rules similar to restricted authorities and financial freedom, and to search out methods to spice up bipartisanship.

However Meijer, R-Grand Rapids Township, who’s time in workplace is now coming to an in depth, quickly discovered himself going through a state of affairs he by no means might have predicted. Rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and Meijer joined 9 different Home Republicans in voting to question former President Donald Trump for inciting the rebellion.

Finally, it was a vote that cost Meijer his job.

“On the finish of the day, if I had a nickel for each Republican colleague who Stated I completely agree with you, I want I might have solid the vote however it could be too politically troublesome, I might have plenty of nickels,” stated Meijer, who was defeated 52% to 48% in the August Republican primary by Trump-endorsed candidate John Gibbs.

Gibbs, who focused Meijer due to his impeachment vote, lost to Democrat Hillary Scholten 55% to 42% within the November basic election. She’s the primary Democrat elected to signify Grand Rapids in Congress since 1974.

Throughout an interview, Meijer, an Iraq warfare veteran whose household based the Meijer grocery retailer chain, mirrored on his time in Congress. He spoke about his victories, his regrets, in addition to the Jan. 6 rebellion and his vote to question Trump.

“It was definitely the dignity of a lifetime to have the ability to signify my hometown in Congress, and to fill some fairly massive footwear,” stated Meijer, referring to his previous Republican congressmen who held the seat, together with former President Gerald Ford, Paul Henry and Vern Ehlers.

Transferring ahead, Meijer stated he’s nonetheless planning his subsequent steps. However he’ll stay in West Michigan and might be searching for new methods to serve the neighborhood and advance the insurance policies and priorities he values. He additionally stated he’s not ruling out one other run for workplace.

“My objective in operating for workplace was to serve, and that objective has not modified,” he stated. “The capability during which I’m serving may.”

He added, “I’m going to proceed to remain engaged on transferring plenty of the problems we had been engaged on on the federal degree. But in addition, I actually noticed the restrictions of what the federal authorities can do in terms of addressing plenty of the problems most prime of thoughts to of us in West Michigan.”

Whereas Meijer, 34, drew probably the most headlines for his impeachment vote, he stated he was pleased with what he achieved in workplace.

The East Grand Rapids Public Faculties graduate stated 4 of his payments had been signed into regulation. That’s double the earlier report of two payments from a freshman congressman, he stated.

His payments included efforts to extend consciousness of human trafficking, create a nationwide provide chain database, and set up a Division of Homeland Safety commerce and financial safety council, he stated. In addition they embrace a fee to modernize and strengthen the State Division.

“I feel it’s simple to make it appear like you’re doing one thing when you’re dropping plenty of items of laws,” Meijer stated. “But when these payments are going nowhere and also you’re not placing within the laborious work to get it throughout the end line, you’re not transferring the needle, you’re simply losing oxygen.”

Different achievements included securing $7.2 million to assist join a whole lot of properties in a Cascade Township neighborhood, whose wells had been polluted by PFAS, to municipal water. He additionally secured $3 million to assist Hope Community rework Fulton Manor in Grand Rapids into low-income housing.

As well as, Meijer labored with U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, on laws, parts of which had been signed into regulation, to supply further well being care and incapacity advantages to veterans uncovered to poisonous burn pits in fight zones.

When requested if he has any regrets, Meijer stated he would have appreciated to have communicated higher with constituents.

“I feel there’s lots of people who speak and speak and speak and don’t get something performed,” he stated. “I’m proud that we received plenty of issues performed. However I felt like we by no means cracked the code on be as environment friendly and efficient in speaking what we had been engaged on.”

Talking about his loss to Gibbs throughout the main, Meijer stated he confronted a problem of operating within the newly drawn third Congressional District following the once-a-decade redistricting course of.

“Fifty % of the district (was) model new,” he stated. “In order that clearly was a problem.”

He additionally stated the Democratic Celebration “wished to do what they might to control the first.”

He pointed, for instance, to the Democratic Congressional Marketing campaign Committee’s (DCCC) assist of TV commercials touting Gibbs’ endorsement by Trump. The concept behind the adverts was to advertise Gibbs as a result of he was seen as a better candidate for Scholten to beat within the November basic election.

“I actually assume it was,” Meijer stated when requested if the DCCC was one of many elements that helped Gibbs defeat Meijer within the main. “Gibbs wasn’t in a position to afford a single TV advert, and he wanted it.”

Reflecting on his loss and the state of the GOP, Meijer stated the Republican social gathering must reevaluate its technique and the candidates it’s placing up for election, given how poorly the social gathering carried out within the 2022 mid-term election, he stated. Democrats swept the statewide offices and won control of the state House and Senate.

“Aside from some countywide officers, come Jan. 3 at midday I gained’t be represented by a single Republican in any legislative capability,” Meijer stated. “That’s fairly miserable. That needs to be a time for the social gathering right here in Michigan to take inventory, see what went flawed.”

In his remaining days in workplace, one in all Meijer’s priorities was the passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act.

Meijer, a frequent and vocal critic of the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, stated the act was vital as a result of it could have supplied Afghans evacuated from their nation a pathway to use for everlasting residency within the U.S.

Finally, the Senate didn’t embrace the act in a remaining, year-end spending bundle.

“The truth that we weren’t in a position to get this performed is extremely disappointing,” stated Meijer, who spoke about the necessity to go the laws in his remaining speech from the Home ground. “It’s an insult on prime of the ethical damage and disgrace that was the catastrophic withdrawal.”

Along with his time in workplace coming to an finish, Meijer, of Grand Rapids Township, is again in West Michigan — and he says he intends to remain right here.

“West Michigan is my house,” he stated. “It cracks me up. There are people who find themselves like ‘Are you going to remain in D.C.? Why? I rented an house right here whereas I used to be a member. West Michigan is house.”

Learn extra:

Grand Rapids business district awarded state grant

Historic Flat Iron building in Grand Rapids sold to Cleveland firm for $9.75M

57-unit market rate apartment building planned for downtown Grand Rapids