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SALT LAKE CITY — Over 100 Republican former national security officials and members of Congress endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in a letter of support Wednesday, calling former President Donald Trump "unfit to serve again as president, or indeed in any office of public trust."
The list of 111 signatories includes former national security and foreign policy officials who served in Republican administrations ranging from Ronald Reagan to Trump, as well as numerous officials who worked on presidential campaigns for Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and the late Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Some notable signatories include former CIA and FBI Director William Webster, George W. Bush's Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, former CIA and NSA Director General Michael Hayden and former U.S. trade representatives Carla Hills and Robert Zoellick.
Eight former members of Trump's administration signed the letter, condemning Trump's "chaotic and unethical behavior and disregard for our Republic's time-tested principles of constitutional governance."
Former Republican Congress members, Romney adviser condemn Trump
The list also includes some Republicans who did not endorse President Joe Biden in a similar open letter in 2020: former members of Congress, Charles W. Boustany Jr., of Louisiana, Barbara Comstock, of Virginia, Dan Miller, of Florida, and Bill Paxon of New York.
Comstock was a strategic adviser for Romney's two presidential runs.
In the letter, the Republicans say that while they expect to disagree with Harris on a number of policy issues, they believe she "possesses essential qualities to serve as president and Donald Trump does not."
"Vice President Harris has demonstrated a commitment to upholding the ideals that define our nation — freedom, democracy, and rule of law," the group wrote. Among several reasons for their support, the group noted Harris' ability to "engage in orderly national security decision-making, without the constant drama and Cabinet turnover of the Trump administration" and her commitment to "appoint a Republican to her Cabinet in order to encourage a diversity of views and restore a measure of bipartisanship and comity to our domestic politics."
Trump, on the other hand, has "dangerous qualities," the Republicans argued.
"In our view, by inciting the violent attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and defending those who committed it, he has violated his oath of office and brought danger to our country," the group said.
Quoting former Vice President Mike Pence, the group stated, "Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States."
Latest Republican endorsements of Harris
The endorsement comes on the heels of other notable GOP figures choosing to endorse Harris.
Earlier this month, former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz Cheney, former Republican representatives from Wyoming, announced their support of Harris. Both Cheneys supported Trump in the 2016 election.
On Sunday, 17 former staff members to Reagan wrote a letter in support of Harris, CBS News first reported.
"While (Reagan) is not here to experience the current moment, we who worked for him in the White House, in the administration, in campaigns and on his personal staff, know he would join us in supporting the Harris-Walz ticket," the former Reagan officials wrote. "... Our votes in this election are less about supporting the Democratic Party and more about our resounding support for democracy."
The Reagan staffers join the list of over 230 former Republican staffers who have endorsed the current vice president. Of those, over 40 were staffers on Romney's election campaigns.
