Bush National Security Officials to Launch Group Backing Biden

Two former George W. Bush officials are spearheading a group of dozens of Republican national security officials that will support former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign for the White House, according to a report.

Reuters reported Tuesday:

The group will publicly endorse Biden in the coming weeks and its members plan to campaign for the former vice president who is challenging Trump in the Nov. 3 election, the sources said. It includes at least two dozen officials who served under Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, with dozens more in talks to join, the sources added.

They will argue that another four years of a Trump presidency would endanger U.S. national security and that Republican voters should view Biden as the better choice despite policy differences, the sources said.

The initiative is being led by John Bellinger III and Ken Wainstein, according to the people involved, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Both held senior posts under George W. Bush. Bellinger served as legal adviser to the National Security Council and State Department. Wainstein served as Bush’s homeland security adviser and as chief of staff to former FBI Director Robert Mueller.

Bellinger and Wainstein’s anti-Trump stance is nothing new, having joined nearly 50 other Republicans who signed an August 2016 letter opposing the then-real estate mogul’s candidacy for the highest office in the land.

Trump campaign director of communications Tim Murtaugh dismissed reports of the soon-to-launch group, telling Reuters, “Not surprising that the same people who gave us endless wars that led to thousands of deaths and trillions of dollars wasted in the Middle East are siding with a fellow warmonger like Joe Biden.”

Earlier June, the New York Times reported that former President George W. Bush and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) will not support President Donald Trump’s re-election in November, though in a statement to the Texas Tribune, a spokesperson for Bush denied the report, saying: “This is completely made up. He is retired from presidential politics and has not indicated how he will vote.”

Days later, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), told a local news outlet that he will endorse President Trump’s re-election bid.

“President Trump is the only thing standing between America and socialism,” Bush told the Dallas News.

“Even in a global pandemic where we have had to take unprecedented measures to protect public health, the economy is already returning,” he said. “It’s clear, America and Texas will continue to be stronger than ever.”