The following letter was published in The New York Times on September 18, 2024, in conjunction with an article by Peter Baker titled 111 Former G.O.P. Officials Back Harris, Calling Trump ‘Unfit to Serve’.
Link to article | Link to letter

Republican Former National Security Leaders Statement of Support for Vice President Harris

We are former national security and foreign policy officials who served in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and/or Donald Trump, or as Republican Members of Congress. We have served in the White House, the Departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Justice, Homeland Security,Commerce, and other agencies and in Congress.

We believe that the President of the United States must be a principled, serious, and steady leader who can advance and defend American security and values, strengthen our alliances, and protect our democracy. We expect to disagree with Kamala Harris on many domestic and foreign policy issues, but we believe that she possesses the essential qualities to serve as President and Donald Trump does not. We therefore support her election to be President.

We firmly oppose the election of Donald Trump. As President, he promoted daily chaos in government, praised our enemies and undermined our allies, politicized the military and disparaged our veterans, prioritized his personal interest above American interests, and betrayed our values, democracy, and this country's founding documents. In our view, by inciting the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and defending those who committed it, he has violated his oath of office and brought danger to our country. As former Vice President Pence has said "anyone who puts himselfover the Constitution should neverbe President ofthe United States."

Donald Trump's susceptibility to flattery and manipulation by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, unusual affinity for other authoritarian leaders, contempt for the norms of decent, ethical and lawful behavior, and chaotic national security decision-making are dangerous qualities – as many honorable Republican colleagues and military officers who served in senior national security positions in his administration have frequently testified. He is unfit to serve again as President, or indeed in any office ofpublic trust.

Vice President Harris has demonstrated a commitment to upholding the ideals that define our nation freedom, democracy, and rule of law. Her experience as Attorney General of California and her leadership on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and as Vice President have helped prepare her to be President.

We are prepared to support her as President because she has:

• Consistently championed the rule of law, democracy, and our constitutional principles;
• Pledged to “ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world"and to honor and respect those who wear the uniform;
• Committed to sign the bipartisan Border Security package, drafted under the leadership of Republican Senator James Lankford and other Republicans, which would hire 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection personnel and provide more resources for law enforcement but was opposed by Donald Trump to avoid giving President Biden any political advantage;
• Supported a strong NATO to stand up to Russia and protect European and American security and been firm in her support ofUkraine;
• Declared her intention to ensure that the United States will meet the economic and military competition with China;
• Declared her intention to "always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself" and "to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists”;
• Demonstrated that she can engage in orderly national security decision-making, without the constant drama and Cabinet turnover ofthe Trump Administration;
  and
• Committed to appoint a Republican to her Cabinet in order to encourage a diversity of views and restore a measure of bipartisanship and comityto our domestic politics.

We appreciate that many Republicans prefer Donald Trump to Kamala Harris, for a variety ofreasons. We recognize and do not disparage their potential concerns, including about some ofthe positions advocated by the left wing ofthe Democratic party. But any potential concerns pale in comparison to Donald Trump's demonstrated chaotic and unethical behavior and disregard for our Republic's time-tested principles of constitutional governance. His unpredictable nature is not the negotiating virtue he extols. To the contrary, in matters of national security, his demeanor invites equally erratic behavior from our adversaries, which irresponsibly threatens reckless and dangerous global consequences.

In short, Donald Trump cannot be trusted “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic . . . and bear true faith and allegiance to the same. "We believe that Kamala Harris can, and we urge other Americans to join us in supporting her.

Admiral Steve Abbot
USN (Ret.), Former Deputy Homeland Security Advisor, George W. Bush Administration

Kenneth Adelman
Former Director, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Reagan Administration

Dr. Carol C. Adelman
Former Assistant Administrator, United States Agency for International Development, Reagan Administration

Major General John Barry,
USAF (Ret. ), Former Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense

Richard C. Barth
Former Assistant Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, George W. Bush Administration

Christopher Barton
Former Director, National Security Council Staff

John Bellinger
Former Legal Adviser, National Security Council , George W. Bush Administration

Admiral Kenneth Bernard
Former Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, George H.W. Bush Administration

Robert D. Blackwill
Former Deputy National Security Advisor and Ambassador to India, George W. Bush Administration

William Bodie
Former Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, George W. Bush Administration

Christian M.L. Bonat
Former Deputy General Counsel, Dept. of Defense, George W. Bush Administration and Obama Administration

Richard Boucher
Former Assistant Secretary of State, George W. Bush Administration

Charles W. Boustany, Jr.
Former Member of Congress, Louisiana

Charles R. Bowers
Former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, George H.W. Bush Administration

Greg Brower
Former Assistant Director, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Obama and Trump Administrations

Christopher Buckley
Former Chief Speechwriter, Office ofVice President George H.W. Bush

James R. Bullington
Former U.S. Ambassador to Burundi, Reagan Administration

Richard Burt
Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Reagan Administration

Gahl Hodges Burt
Former Assistant to the Secretary of State, Reagan Administration

Rear Admiral Fred Byus
U.S. Navy ( Ret.)

Jack C. Chow
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, George W. Bush Administration

James W. Cicconi
Former Assistant to the President & Deputy to the Chief of Staff, The White House, George H. W. Bush Administration

Peggy Cifrino
Former Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush Administration

Eliot A. Cohen
Former Counselor of the Dept. of State, George W. Bush Administration

Benedict S. Cohen
Former General Counsel, Dept. of the Army, George W. Bush Administration

William Cohen
Former Secretary of Defense, Clinton Administration, and U.S. Senator, Maine

Joseph J. Collins
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, George W. Bush Administration

Barbara Comstock
Former Member of Congress, Virginia

Cindy Courville
Former Ambassador to the African Union and Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs for Africa, W. Bush Administration

Chester A. Crocker
Former Assistant Secretary of State, Reagan Administration

Patrick M. Cronin
Former Assistant Administrator, United States Agency for International Development, George W. Bush Administration

Stephen W. DeVine
Former Deputy Legal Advisor, National Security Council, George W. Bush Administration

Charles Djou
Former Member of Congress, Hawaii

Michael Donley
Former Secretary of the Air Force, George W. Bush Administration and Obama Administration

Raymond F. DuBois
Former Acting Under Secretary of the Army, George W. Bush Administration

Martha E. Duncan
Former Senior Executive Service, Dept. of Defense, George W. Bush Administration and Obama Administration

Lewis A. Dunn
Former Assistant Director, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Reagan Administration

Eric S. Edelman
Former Under Secretary of Defense, George W. Bush Administration

Mickey Edwards
Former Member of Congress, Oklahoma

Richard A. Falkenrath
Former Deputy Assistant to the President, George W. Bush Administration

Jendayi E. Frazer
Former Ambassador to South Africa and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, George W. Bush Administration

Aaron L. Friedberg
Former Deputy Assistant to the Vice President, George W. Bush Administration

William Gaches
Former Director of Counterterrorism, National Security Agency, George W. Bush Administration

Janice Gardner
Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, George W. Bush Administration

Stuart M. Gerson
Former Acting Attorney General of the United States, George W. Bush Administration

James K. Glassman
Former Under Secretary of State, George W. Bush Administration

Jon D. Glassman
Former D

eputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President and Ambassador to Paraguay, George H.W. Bush Administration

David Gordon
Former Director, State Dept, Policy Planning, George W. Bush Administration

Sen. Chuck Hagel
Former Secretary of Defense, Obama Administration , and former U.S. Senator, Nebraska

Christopher Hankin
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; Reagan, George H.W. Bush , and Clinton Administrations

Mark Harvey
Former Special Assistant to the President, Trump Administration

General Michael V. Hayden
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, George W. Bush Administration and Obama Administrations

Carla Hills
Former U.S. Trade Representative, George H.W Bush Administration

Seth Hurwitz
Former Counsel, President's Intelligence Oversight Board , George H.W. Bush Administration

Peter Keisler
Former Acting Attorney General of the United States, George W. Bush Administration

James A. Kelly
Former Assistant Secretary of State, George W. Bush Administration

Adam Kinzinger
Former Member of Congress, Illinois

Sofia Kinzinger
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, Dept. of Homeland Security, Trump Administration

Kenneth J. Krieg
Former Under Secretary of Defense, George W. Bush Administration

James R. Kunder
Former Deputy Administrator, United States Agency for International Development, George W. Bush Administration

Brigadier General George Landis, USA, Ret.
Former commander, United States Personnel Information Systems Command

Frank Lavin
Former Ambassador to Singapore and Former Under Secretary of Commerce, George W. Bush Administration

Peter Lichtenbaum
Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce, George W. Bush Administration

Rear Admiral David M. Lichtman, MD, USN (Ret.)
Former Commander, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, George H.W. Bush and Clinton Administrations

Winston Lord
Former U.S. Ambassador to China, Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administration

Steven R. Mann
Former Ambassador to Turkmenistan and Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Dept. , Clinton and George W. Bush Administrations

Colonel John W. McDonald
Former Deputy Under Secretary of the Army

P. Michael McKinley
Former Ambassador to Peru and Acting Ambassador to the European Union and Mozambique, George W. Bush Administration; Former Ambassador to Peru, Colombia, Afghanistan, and Brazil, Obama Administration

Dan Miller
Former Member of Congress, Florida

John M. Mitnick
Former General Counsel, Dept. of Homeland Security, Trump Administration

Allen Moore
Former Under Secretary of Commerce, Reagan Administration

Alberto Mora
Former General Counsel , U.S. Information Agency, George H.W. Bush Administration; Former General Counsel, Dept. of the Navy, George W. Bush Administration

Kenneth Mortensen
Former Associate Deputy Attorney General, George W. Bush Administration

Vice Admiral Charles L. Munns
U.S. Navy ( Ret. ) , George W. Bush Administration

John D. Negroponte
Former Director of National Intelligence and Former Deputy Secretary of State, George W. Bush Administration

Elizabeth Neumann
Former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump Administration

Sean O'Keefe
Former Secretary of the Navy, George H.W. Bush Administration; Former NASA Administrator, George W. Bush Administration

Bill Paxon
Former Member of Congress , New York

William R Piekney
Former CIA Chief of Station , Reagan Administration

Daniel M. Price
Former Deputy National Security Advisor, George W. Bush Administration

Alan Charles Raul
Former Vice Chairman, White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board , George W. Bush Administration

Victor Reis
Former Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, George H.W. Bush Administration

Robert Annan Riley
Former Ambassador to Micronesia, Trump Administration

Paul Rosenzweig
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, George W. Bush Administration

Charles O. Rossotti
Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense; Former Commissioner ofthe Internal Revenue Service, Clinton and George W. Bush Administrations

Nicholas Rostow
Former National Security Council Legal Adviser, Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations

Kori Schake
Former Deputy Director of Policy Planning, State Dept., George W. Bush Administration

Dr. Wayne A. Schroeder
Former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, George W. Bush Administration

Gregory L. Schulte
Former Senior Director, National Security Council Staff and Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, George W. Bush Administration

Robert Shanks
Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Reagan Administration

Rep. Christopher Shays
Former Member of Congress , Connecticut

John Simon
Former Senior Director, National Security Council Staff and Ambassador to the African Union, George W. Bush Administration

Stephen Slick
Former Senior Director, National Security Council Staff, George W. Bush Administration

Mark C. Storella
Former U.S. Ambassador to Zambia, Obama Administration

William H. Taft IV
Former Deputy Secretary of Defense and Ambassador to NATO, George W. Bush Administration

Miles Taylor
Former Chief of Staff, Dept. of Homeland Security, Trump Administration

Larry D. Thompson
Former Deputy Attorney General, George W. Bush Administration

Jack Thomas Tomarchio
Former Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Homeland Security, George W. Bush Administration

Olivia Troye
Former Special Advisor to the Vice President, Trump Administration

Robert Tuttle
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom , George W. Bush Administration

John K. Veroneau
Former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative and Former Assistant Secretary of Defense, George W. Bush and Clinton Administrations

Colonel Terry Virts, USAF (Ret.)
Former NASA Astronaut, Former Commander of the International Space Station

Dr. Thomas G. Ward, Jr.
Former Director of Threats, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Reagan and Clinton Administrations

Matthew C. Waxman
Former Principal Deputy Director, State Dept Policy Planning, George W. Bush Administration

William H. Webster
Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigations, Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations

William F. Weld
Former Assistant Attorney General , Criminal Division, Reagan Administration

J. Robinson West
Former Assistant Secretary of Interior, Reagan Administration

Wendell L. Willkie II
Former General Counsel, Dept. of Commerce, George H.W. Bush Administration

Philip Zelikow
Former Counselor of the Dept. of State, George W. Bush Administration

Robert B. Zoellick
Former Deputy Secretary of State and U.S. Trade Representative, George W. Bush Administration; White House Deputy Chief of Staff, George H.W. Bush Administration