As his time in Congress ends, Peter Meijer reflects on politics, looks forward

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — After winning election in 2020, Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer went to Washington eager to promote conservative principles such as limited government and economic freedom, and to find ways to boost bipartisanship.

But Meijer, R-Grand Rapids Township, who’s time in office is now coming to a close, soon found himself facing a situation he never could have predicted. Rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and Meijer joined nine other House Republicans in voting to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection.

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

“At the end of the day, if I had a nickel for every Republican colleague who said I totally agree with you, I wish I could have cast the vote but it would be too politically difficult, I would have a lot of nickels,” said Meijer, who was defeated 52% to 48% in the August Republican primary by Trump-endorsed candidate John Gibbs.

Gibbs, who targeted Meijer because of his impeachment vote, lost to Democrat Hillary Scholten 55% to 42% in the November general election. She’s the first Democrat elected to represent Grand Rapids in Congress since 1974.

During an interview, Meijer, an Iraq war veteran whose family founded the Meijer grocery store chain, reflected on his time in Congress. He spoke about his victories, his regrets, as well as the Jan. 6 insurrection and his vote to impeach Trump.

“It was certainly the honor of a lifetime to be able to represent my hometown in Congress, and to fill some pretty big shoes,” said Meijer, referring to his past Republican congressmen who held the seat, including former President Gerald Ford, Paul Henry and Vern Ehlers.

Moving forward, Meijer said he’s still planning his next steps. But he will remain in West Michigan and will be looking for new ways to serve the community and advance the policies and priorities he values. He also said he’s not ruling out another run for office.

“My goal in running for office was to serve, and that goal has not changed,” he said. “The capacity in which I’m serving might.”

He added, “I’m going to continue to stay engaged on moving a lot of the issues we were working on at the federal level. But also, I really saw the limitations of what the federal government can do when it comes to addressing a lot of the issues most top of mind to folks in West Michigan.”

While Meijer, 34, drew the most headlines for his impeachment vote, he said he was proud of what he accomplished in office.

The East Grand Rapids Public Schools graduate said four of his bills were signed into law. That’s double the previous record of two bills from a freshman congressman, he said.

His bills included efforts to increase awareness of human trafficking, create a national supply chain database, and establish a Department of Homeland Security trade and economic security council, he said. They also include a commission to modernize and strengthen the State Department.

“I think it’s easy to make it look like you’re doing something if you’re dropping a lot of pieces of legislation,” Meijer said. “But if those bills are going nowhere and you’re not putting in the hard…