200 former aides

More than 200 former aides to McCain, Romney and Bushes sign letter endorsing Harris

From CNN's Aaron Pellish

More than 200 Republicans who previously worked for former Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, former Sen. John McCain or Sen. Mitt Romney signed a letter backing Vice President Kamala Harris for president. 

USA Today first reported the letter.

The letter, which echoes the pledge of support from a similar group of Republicans for President Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election, seeks to convince voters who backed previous Republican presidential nominees to support Harris and prevent former President Donald Trump from being reelected.

“Of course, we have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz. That’s to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable,” the letter read.

“At home, another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership, this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions. Abroad, democratic movements will be irreparably jeopardized as Trump and his acolyte JD Vance kowtow to dictators like Vladimir Putin while turning their backs on our allies. We can’t let that happen,” it continued.

Among those who signed the letter are former George H.W. Bush chief of staff Jean Becker, former McCain chiefs of staff Mark Salter and Christopher Koch, and Olivia Troye, the former Homeland Security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence.

The letter marks another notch of support from former Republicans after several, including Troye and former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, spoke at the DNC last week in support of Harris. In her remarks at the convention, Harris made a direct appeal to independent and Republican-leaning voters, assuring them she’d serve as a president “for all Americans.”