Former Republican congressman Charlie Dent confirmed to CNN that he and about 120 Republicans had a conversation last Friday about the possibility of forming a new party or faction within the Republican Party that would operate independently of the Republican Party.
“Clearly, there are a number of Republicans like me and other Republican leaders who want a clean break with President Trump, and we are uniting around some fundamental principles like truth and honesty, democracy and the rule of law,” Pennsylvania congressman, who is a CNN contributor, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Thursday.
The remarkable move would exemplify how the Republican Party is fragmented, but Trump still has a high rate of approval among Republican voters and the bipartisan system has dominated the U.S. political system for centuries.
Despite the visceral presentation of the House’s impeachment managers during Trump’s Senate impeachment trial this week, Republican senators have signaled that they will vote for Trump’s absolution, arguing that Democrats have not strongly advocated that Trump’s words led to violent actions in January and that the trial is unconstitutional because Trump is a former president.
Dent told CNN on Thursday that Trump will likely be acquitted and “will not be held accountable”, and he will then try to overthrow the Senate Republicans who voted to condemn him and the 10 Republican Party House members who voted for his impeachment.
“This is what I fear most now, that Trump will feel vindicated. He will feel like he has been cleared,” said Dent, adding that he thinks Trump will try to hold those who voted against him “accountable in his own wicked way.”
Dent told CNN that Republicans like him believe it is important to join Republican representatives. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Fred Upton of Michigan and Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah “who defended the truth on principle and want to make a clean break and make this party different.”
“What we want is not to cling to the past, to cling to a man who is in disgrace, in any way, shape or form. We don’t want to follow that man who brought nothing but defeat and misery and insurrection,” said Dent . “Let’s go forward, not back.”
Anthony Scaramucci, who made a brief stint as White House communications director under Trump, also confirmed that he also participates in discussions with other former Republican officials to form a “center-right party”.
“I think what happened in the past three or four days has strengthened a very large group of people” who believe that if Senate Republicans do not condemn Trump, the “party will split into two parts” so that it is “diluted and completely weakened “Scaramucci told Cuomo of CNN.
Scaramucci predicted that Trump will be acquitted at his Senate trial and that 5-20% of the Republican Party will split up and start a new party.
“It will be a center-right party that will cooperate with the Democrats and put an end to the absurdity of the extreme right,” said Scaramucci.
Evan McMullin, a former Republican Party adviser and current executive director of Stand Up Republic, confirmed to CNN that he organized the virtual meeting and argued that “there is a need for something new, whether in the Republican Party or outside.”
“The current leadership of the party is destructive, both for its own interests, but most importantly, for the interests of the country,” he told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday, adding: “As extreme as some members of Congress are arriving from Republican side, as the party deals with these related issues, there is also an opportunity for renewal and rebirth, and that’s what we’re talking about. ”
He said that if a new faction is formed, they will present their own Republican candidates and even, in some cases, support Democratic candidates for the election.
McMullin, who ran as an independent for president in 2016, acknowledged that the Republican Party is still largely under Trump’s control.
“What we want is a new direction for the party, and we are trying to unite people who are committed to our fundamental values, democracy and those who want it, regardless of who they supported in the past, and the fact that our numbers are growing it’s the most exciting thing, ”he said.