Harris nets another big and high-powered slate of Republican endorsements

If Republican presidential candidates have traditionally been seen as more closely aligned with the U.S. national security establishment — the military, the intelligence community, foreign policy experts — it’s a run that’s come to an abrupt halt in 2024.

This fact was brought home yet again today in an announcement from the Harris-Walz campaign that more than 100 Republican former national security and foreign policy officials who served in senior roles in multiple presidential administrations and in Congress are endorsing Vice President Harris for President.

In their letter of endorsement, the Republican leaders praised Harris as the kind of  “principled, serious,” and “steady leader” our country needs, saying, “Vice President Harris has demonstrated a commitment to upholding the ideals that define our nation — freedom, democracy, and rule of law” and that she has “demonstrated that she can engage in orderly national security decision-making, without the constant drama and Cabinet turnover of the Trump Administration.”

Retired Air Force General and former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden is among the former national security officials who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy today. (Photo: U.S. Air Force) 

In sharp contrast, the letter offered a warning to the American people about former President Donald Trump and the dangers a second Trump administration would bring, and spoke directly to Republicans, saying “Any potential concerns [about supporting the Democratic Party] pale in comparison to Donald Trump’s demonstrated chaotic and unethical behavior and disregard for our Republic’s time-tested principles of constitutional governance.”

The list of individuals signing the letter includes President Reagan’s and George H.W. Bush’s CIA and FBI Director William Webster, George W. Bush’s Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, and former CIA and NSA director, General Michael Hayden. Former Republican members of Congress with backgrounds in national security and foreign affairs issues on the list include Charles Boustany of Louisiana, Dan Miller of Florida, and Bill Paxon of New York.

Today’s mass endorsement marks just the latest in a fast-growing list of such statements from Republicans and former national security officials. Last week, Reuters reported that a group of 10 former top U.S. military officials had endorsed Harris, while describing Trump as “a danger to our national security and democracy.”

Click here to read today’s letter and the entire list of former GOP officials.