He wasn't elected to Congress by Independents. He was elected as a Republican by Republicans who've been robbed of their votes and their Representation. He vacated the Republican seat he had won through those voters, so there should have been a special election held in Michigan between Republican candidates for a Republican replacement to serve the rest of his term for them. Elected officials should not be allowed to play musical chairs to shift political power around for their purposes at voters' expense. If he wants to be an Independent now, he should have resigned and run as an Independent in the next election.