30 Former Republican Lawmakers Denounce Donald Trump
Donald Trump / AP
Natalie Johnson - October 6, 2016 3:32 PM
Thirty former Republican members of Congress announced their opposition to Donald Trump on Thursday, calling his "disgraceful candidacy indefensible."
"As Republican members of Congress, we took pride in representing a political party that stood for honest and principled public leadership in which the American people could place their trust," the retired lawmakers wrote in an open letter.
"Sadly, our party's nominee this year is a man who makes a mockery of the principles and values we have cherished and which we sought to represent in Congress."
The group includes influential lawmakers who served key battleground states, including former Iowa Rep. Jim Leach, former Pennsylvania Rep. Bill Clinger, and former Virginia Rep. G. William Whitehurst.
Clinger notably spearheaded the investigation into the Clintons in the 1990s over the White House's "Travelgate" controversy.
While the lawmakers do not mention Hillary Clinton, the letter's organizer, Andrew Weinstein, told CNN some of the GOP signatories would cast a vote for the Democratic nominee while others will back Libertarian Gary Johnson.
"In nominating Donald Trump, the Republican Party has asked the people of the United States to entrust their future to a man who insults women, mocks the handicapped, urges that dissent be met with violence, seeks to impose religious tests for entry into the United States, and applies a de facto ethnicity test to judges," the former lawmakers wrote.
"He offends our allies and praises dictators. His public statements are peppered with lies. He belittles our heroes and insults the parents of men who have died serving our country. Every day brings a fresh revelation that highlights the unacceptable danger in electing him to lead our nation," they continued.
In August, 50 senior Republican national security officials, including former cabinet members to former President George W. Bush, penned an open letter denouncing Trump's candidacy. The signatories called Trump a "dangerous" leader who would put U.S. national security at risk.
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Natalie Johnson is a staff writer at the Washington Free Beacon. Prior to joining the Free Beacon, she was a news reporter at the Daily Signal. Johnson's work has been featured in outlets such as Newsweek, Fox News and Drudge Report. She graduated from James Madison University in 2015 with a B.A. in political science and journalism. She can be reached at johnson@freebeacon.com. Her twitter handle is @nataliejohnsonn.