A group of more than 100 anti-Trump Republicans plan to release a call for action within their party and are threatening to form an "alternative" party that is "dedicated to our founding ideals" if the party doesn't return to an embrace of its principles.
The group's statement, called a "Call for American Renewal," includes 13 principles, which haven't yet been revealed, that its signers want the GOP to embrace, reports NBC News, but reportedly, the prominent Republicans are saying that they "either reimagine a party dedicated to our founding ideals or else hasten the creation of such an alternative."
The effort comes while House Republicans prepare to remove Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., from her leadership seat after she refused to remain silent about former President Donald Trump's claims about the 2020 election and about the Jan. 6 incidents at the U.S. Capitol.
According to Reuters, which first reported about the call for action, Republicans involved in the upcoming declaration include New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, the first secretary of homeland security; former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters; and former GOP Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Reid Ribble of Wisconsin, and Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma. Former CIA agent Evan McMullin, who ran as an independent for president in 2016, is also reportedly involved in the effort.
McMullin, also a former chief policy director for the House Republican Conference told Reuters that if his party does not reject lies and extremism, part of it "will have no choice but to part ways with it and build something new. We’re excited about that prospect."
None of the people involved in the effort are now serving in office, and their push comes while Trump's influence on his party remains divided. According to a recent NBC News poll, 44% of Republicans say they support Trump more than the party, and 50% said they support the party more than they do him.
Miles Taylor, a former Trump official who blasted the administration in an article he wrote for The New York Times under the pseudonym "Anonymous" in 2018, said the effort is "one last chance" for the GOP to "get its act together and moderate."
"We're not going to hold our breath," he told NBC News. "We're ready to get out there and fight against the radical elements in the party to try to excise those elements from within the GOP and our national politics and to try to invest in the deeper pro-democracy bench."
Taylor also said the movement will back candidates supporting its principles.
"Enough is enough, and the GOP has had enough time to decide whether it's going to separate itself from a man who is a chronic loser," he said about Trump. He also predicted there will be a "raging civil war" if other Republicans don't join the group's efforts.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller, meanwhile, slammed the group, commenting that "these losers left the Republican Party when they voted for Joe Biden," reports Reuters.
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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