Former George W. Bush officials form super PAC to support Joe Biden
Officials who worked for former President George W. Bush have formed a super PAC supporting Joe Biden for president. It's the latest instance of old-guard Republicans uniting to not only oppose President Trump, but also actively support his Democratic rival in November.
The group launched Wednesday under the name "43 Alumni for Biden," referencing Bush's status as the 43rd U.S. president. It will raise money to support Biden and says it also plans to launch video campaigns and get-out-the-vote efforts to mobilize "disenchanted GOP voters" against the incumbent Republican president.
"Earlier this summer, having seen far too many days filled with chaos emanating from the highest levels of government, we knew it was time to take a stand," the group says on its website.
"Bound by our shared work experience and a belief in a brighter tomorrow, we endorse Joe Biden for President. Political differences may remain among us, but we look forward to a time when civil, honest and robust policy discussions are the order of the day. Our democracy is at stake."
The group says it includes Cabinet secretaries and senior officials from the Bush administration, but it has not disclosed a full list of its members. Mr. Bush himself is not involved in the group, and as a super PAC, it cannot work directly with the Biden campaign.
Reuters first reported on the group's formation and said hundreds of former Bush officials were on board.
Mr. Bush has avoided explicitly criticizing Mr. Trump in public, though in a 2017 address he lamented the rise of "bullying and prejudice in our public life." The former president has not said where he stands on the 2020 election; his spokesman said recent reports that he'd already decided to not support Mr. Trump's reelection were "completely made up."
Several other Republican groups have formed in the past year to oppose Mr. Trump's reelection, and some are now working to support Biden. They include Republican Voters Against Trump, which is running a multimillion-dollar ad campaign targeting swing states voters, and the Lincoln Project, which was co-founded by George Conway, the husband of Trump White House adviser Kellyanne Conway.