A profile on Representative Peter Meijer, a Republican from Michigan, has amplified an ethical crisis with dark implications and not just for the lawmaker—who is often caught between traditional Republicanism and its extremist elements—but also and more importantly, for the people of the United States.

Published in The Atlantic, the piece painted in intimate detail the tightrope that Meijer has found himself walking since he was first elected and started his term a mere three days before the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Unlike many members in the GOP, when it got down to it on Jan. 6, Meijer voted to certify the election results for its victor Joe Biden. And a week later, when a vote to impeach then-President Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection was on the floor, Meijer was one of just 10 Republicans to cast their ballot against Trump. He was, as The Atlantic noted, the only freshman congressman in American history to vote to impeach a president of his own party.

Meijer’s decision to impeach initiated him involuntarily into a club with high stakes. That club is comprised of a proportionately small number of members who have, on occasion, spoken out against the former president and then found themselves subjected to internal pressure, harassment, and threats from those who swear fealty to the cult of Donald Trump.  

In one excerpt from the profile, the intimidation dynamic inherent to Trumpism is put on bald display:

This dysfunction is not new. It has been part and parcel of American politics from the moment Trump took office through his unwilling exit after he lost the 2020 election and to his subsequent incitement of insurrection on Jan. 6.

Even now, nearly a year after the attack on the Capitol, Trump’s hold on the Republican party is still firm and his influence is still felt. (See: Rep. Liz Cheney’s ouster from House leadership after supporting the Jan. 6 Committee and denouncing Trump’s bogus claims of election fraud; the upswell of state lawmakers parroting Trump’s baseless fraud allegations; the manipulation of election officials in places like Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, to name a few, in the run-up to 2024 general election)

In a separate article published in The Atlantic this week, staff writer Barton Gellman put a finer point on it:

Meijer described the quandary he found himself in as “the worst 96 hours of his life” when he had to decide whether to prioritize the longevity of his career or stand by constitutional principles and vote to impeach a president whose abuse of power demanded it.

Ultimately, the neophyte lawmaker’s decision was to stick with principle. He hoped the U.S. would take a dose of medicine it desperately needed. That dose, Atlantic staff writer Tim Alberta wrote, being a “come-to-Jesus conversation about political extremism.”

Given the pervasive racist rhetoric still flowing from House Republicans—the latest of which can be attributed to Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert—that medicine, it seems, was prescribed but the doses left untouched.

Interestingly, there are details in Meijer’s profile that are quietly terrifying. One such detail is the recounting of a meeting between new lawmakers and House Leader Kevin McCarthy shortly before Congress would convene to certify the electoral results this January.

McCarthy, the leader of all House Republicans, their spearhead, their touchstone, their guide—multiple sources reported—was aloof with his own members. Never shy of a microphone or a chance to promote an agenda with Trump’s name attached to it, McCarthy reportedly wouldn’t counsel the new lawmakers directly or indirectly about whether to certify Biden’s win.

This cut a stark contrast to what was unfolding in the Senate where Mitch McConnell, who rarely turned his back on Trump, was pushing hard for Republican senators to certify Biden’s win.

And when Meijer turned to other members in his party for guidance, according to The Atlantic, even a longtime legislator who didn’t buy into Trump’s election bunk told Meijer: “This is the last thing Donald Trump will ever ask you to do.”

Meijer was in the Capitol during the attack and he went on a press tour afterward openly condemning the violence that unfolded there as he courted larger conversations about how to move the Republican party toward the so-called right side of history.

But as it goes for most Republicans who challenge Trump or his lies, the punishment was swift. Within weeks of his media blitz, Meijer was censured by county-level Republican parties in his own district. And as time went on, Meijer recalled in the interview, he realized that for most of his constituents in Michigan, topics like the insurrection had become tiresome.

Meijer, in another exchange with a voter at a Michigan town hall, was asked to define how true Republicanism was different from Trumpism. Alberta reported that Meijer gave a dodgy answer and the person who asked it admitted later to Alberta that they were displeased with the lawmaker’s response.

Perhaps to his credit for admitting it at all, or perhaps not since he failed to be forthcoming in the moment with a constituent, Meijer later told Alberta he understood why people may fear Republicans today.

“The inability to affirmatively and consistently reject anti-Semitism and white supremacy?” he said with a smirk.

Alberta noted in the profile how Meijer was careful not to name fellow lawmakers or rebuke them or their positions. Meijer was described as appearing like a man being tortured when he tried to avoid criticizing Kevin McCarthy during the interview.

Meijer won’t name names because he wants to “bring down the temperature” and he remains assured that there are more rational Republicans in Congress than there are zealots for Trump.

“Because [traditional Republicans] have the numbers, he says, there’s no need to engage in guerrilla tactics. They can reason and debate like adults. They can take the high road. They can play the long game,” Alberta wrote.

But for people in the United States and for the officials elected to represent them who are the targets of the “guerrilla tactics” deployed by extremists in Congress, for example, this sentiment arguably borders on blatant disregard at worst or perhaps, ignorance at best.

Meijer’s profile was published one day before Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat, introduced a resolution formally condemning racist remarks made by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert.

Boebert maligned Rep. Ilhan Omar, calling her a terrorist and repeatedly denigrating her because she is Muslim.

McCarthy has been silent. He would not condemn Boebert’s comments outright but rather chalked them up to infighting. Omar has called McCarthy “a liar and a coward.” Just a handful of Republicans have aired their disapproval of Boebert’s conduct.

With this in mind, Meijer may spare a thought to what was offered by Democrat Rep. Rashida Talib, a fellow Michigander, during a press conference Wednesday about the resolution condemning the repugnant behavior of his fellow Republican. 

“We shouldn’t have to beg and urge Republicans to do what is right,” Talib said.

Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri summed it up nicely for her colleagues in Congress who face internal struggles. 

“Our title is Representative. If we signed up to represent, we didn’t sign up saying, ‘These are the people I will represent.’ We signed up saying we will represent the district of [wherever] that is, meaning all of the people within that district. But we also signed up to be in federal office meaning our words, that the power we have, affects the entire country,” she said. “It is our job to respect and uphold the dignity of every single person in this country and if we choose not to, we should not be in this seat.”

Meijer did not immediately respond to request for comment Wednesday.