Republicans vow in letter to back third party over Trump, ex-president's spox calls them 'losers'

More than 100 former Republican officials will sign a letter Thursday vowing to back the formation of a third party if the GOP does not break with former President Trump and change direction.

The "A Call For American Renewal" letter was first reported by Reuters, and would be signed one day after Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from her House leadership post for her repeated, public opposition to allegations of widespread 2020 voter fraud by Trump, who still has a considerable hold on the GOP. 

"The Republican Party is broken. It's time for a resistance of the 'rationals' against the 'radicals,' " said Miles Taylor, one of the organizers. Taylor, while serving in the Trump White House, wrote an anonymous opinion piece in the New York Times in 2018 headlined: "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration."

The group first vowed third party support in February, following the Capitol breach on Jan. 6, as congressional lawmakers attempted to certify Democrat Joe Biden as president.

Among those supporting the effort are former Govs. Tom Ridge, Pennsylvania; Christine Todd Whitman, New Jersey; exTransportation Secretary Mary Peters; and former House members Charlie Dent, Pennsylvania; Barbara Comstock, Virginia, and Reid Ribble, Wisconsin, the wire service also reports.

However, none of those who reportedly will sign the letter hold elected office, including Cheney, who in February rejected the idea of a third party, saying it would empower Democrats.

"These losers left the Republican Party when they voted for Joe Biden," says Trump spokesman Jason Miller.