Long-shot: ‘Officials’ Seek Establishment Republican Party

Evan McMullin
George Frey/Getty Images

A group described by Reuters as “former Republican officials,” numbering as many as “dozens,” is reportedly seeking to form a new, “center-right” alternative to the current Republican Party — one without the influence of Donald Trump.

Reuters reported Wednesday:

Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump and his attempts to undermine U.S. democracy, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party, four people involved in the discussions told Reuters.

The early stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say.

More than 120 of them held a Zoom call last Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a platform of “principled conservatism,” including adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law – ideas those involved say have been trashed by Trump.

A key figure in the new party is said to be Evan McMullin, a former CIA official who ran against Trump on a third-party ticket in 2016.

In February 2017, shortly after Trump took office, McMullin encouraged intelligence officials to leak information damaging to President Trump, calling him a “threat to the country.” He claimed that President Trump had been “co-opted” by Russia.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His newest e-book is How Not to Be a Sh!thole Country: Lessons from South Africa. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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