(NewsNation) — More than 200 Republican officials are separating from former President Donald Trump and are endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency, according to a letter released Monday.
In the letter, first reported by USA Today, the former staff members — who once worked for both Bush presidents, Sen. Mitt Romney and the late Sen. John McCain — warned of and outlined the foreign and domestic dangers of a second Trump term.
“At home, another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership, this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions,” the group wrote.
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The signatories range from former volunteers, interns and assistants to one-time high-level officials in the White House and Senate, including Jean Becker, former chief of staff for 24 years to former President George H.W. Bush, and Joe Donoghue, former legislative director for McCain.
“Of course, we have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz. That’s to be expected,” they wrote. “The alternative, however, is simply untenable.”
The group of former aides joins more than two dozen former Republican governors, members of Congress and Trump administration officials who pledged support for Harris’ presidential campaign.
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The group criticized Trump’s policies and Project 2025, a plan proposed by the Heritage Foundation for a potential second Trump term, which the former president has tried to distance himself from, arguing he disagrees “with some of the things they’re saying.”
In response to the letter, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated, “It’s hilarious because nobody knows who these people are. They would rather see the country burn down than to see President Trump successfully return to the White House to Make America Great Again.”
This comes after the Harris-Walz campaign on Sunday announced “Republicans for Harris,” a program designed to “further outreach efforts to the millions of Republican voters who continued to reject the chaos, division, and violence of Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda,” Newsweek reported.
GOP Representatives endorsing Harris
Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger
Former Washington Rep. Rod Chandler
Former Missouri Rep. Tom Coleman
Former Maine Rep. Dave Emery
Former Maryland Rep. Wayne Gilchrest
Former Pennslyvania Rep. Jim Greenwood
Former New York Rep. John LeBoutillier
Former New York Rep. Susan Molinari
Former New York Rep. Jack Quinn
Former Virginia Rep. Denver Riggleman
Former Rhode Island Rep. Claudine Schneider
Former Connecticut Rep. Christopher Shays
Former Vermont Rep. Peter Smith
Former Texas Rep. Alan Steelman
Former Michigan Rep. David Trott
Former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh
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GOP governors endorsing Harris
Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld
Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman
Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan
Other notable GOP figures endorsing Harris
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
Former Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles
Former GOP state chair and state Senator Chris Vance of Washington
Reed Howard of Young Republicans for Harris
Former Republican National Committee (RNC) delegate Rina Shah
Former Trump White House official Stephanie Grisham
Former Trump White House official Olivia Troye
A dozen Republican White House attorneys who worked with former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have endorsed Harris for president, including former federal appeals court Judge Michael Luttig.
“We endorse Kamala Harris and support her election as President because we believe that returning former President Trump to office would threaten American democracy and undermine the rule of law in our country,” the lawyers wrote in a letter first reported by Fox News.
