Dozens of President George W. Bush-era Republicans are leaving the GOP after they said high-level figures refused to denounce former President Donald Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.
Kristopher Purcell, who worked in a communications role in the Bush White House, told Reuters that between 60 and 70 former Bush officials have joined a “growing” list departing the Republican Party following signals of allegiance to Trump. The political authorities are terminating their memberships with the party, refusing to renew them, or registering as Independents.
“The Republican Party as I knew it no longer exists. I’d call it the cult of Trump,” Jimmy Gurule, who served as undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence in the Bush administration, said.
Trump faces an impeachment trial after thousands of his supporters clashed with law enforcement and breached the Capitol in an incident that led to five deaths. The GOP’s loyalty to the former president faces a hurdle, as 10 GOP representatives, including Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, voted in favor of impeaching Trump.
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse joined three other Republican lawmakers in a Senate vote to proceed with Trump’s impeachment. The decision to move forward with the trial has passed both chambers.
“If it continues to be the party of Trump, many of us are not going back,” Rosario Marin, a former treasurer of the United States under Bush, said. “Unless the Senate convicts him, and rids themselves of the Trump cancer, many of us will not be going back to vote for Republican leaders.”
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel acknowledged the party division in a recent interview with Fox Business.
“We’re having a little bit of a spat right now,” she said. “But we are going to come together. We have to.”
Some renouncing the modern-day GOP pointed to newly elected lawmakers such as Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been accused of threatening colleagues and promoting conspiracy theories. Democratic Congress members have since called for her removal from office.
“We have QAnon members of Congress. It’s appalling,” Purcell said of Greene.
On Sunday, Trump announced a new legal team in anticipation of his impeachment trial. Many Republican lawmakers have denounced the proceedings against the former president.
“If you voted that it was unconstitutional, then how in the world would you ever hope to convict somebody for this?” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul asked last week during deliberations over the trial. “Forty-five of us, almost the entire caucus, 95% of the caucus, voted that the whole proceeding was unconstitutional. This is a big victory for us. Democrats can beat this partisan horse as long as they want — this vote indicates it’s over, the trial is all over.”
Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial will mark the second time the president’s conduct has gone before the Senate. Trump was acquitted in February 2020 following a vote after he was alleged to have solicited foreign help in the 2020 election.
