New Anti-Trump GOP Group Claims Backing of 'Top' Government Official

A new Republican group that has formed to oppose President Donald Trump claims it has the support of an unnamed senior official from the current administration.

In a press release to mark its official launch on Thursday, the Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform (REPAIR) listed 26 people as advisers, including conservative former officials from the Reagan, both Bush, and Trump administrations.

Among them is former U.S. deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, ex-White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, and the group's co-founder, Miles Taylor, chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) before he resigned in 2019.

Also on the list are two unnamed figures, listed as "senior administration official number one" who is described as a "current top U.S. government official."

Another name whose identity is kept secret is listed as "senior administration official 2" who is described as a "former top U.S. government official."

Newsweek has contacted REPAIR for comment.

REPAIR appears to have similar goals to The Lincoln Project, a group of GOP activists working against Trump's re-election in a highly visible television and online campaign.

The new group said it was "being incubated" by the groups Defending Democracy Together and Republican Voters Against Trump. A release said REPAIR is focused "on a return to principles-based governing in the post-Trump era."

Politico reported that REPAIR is likely to create ads featuring ex-Trump officials speaking out about the administration and has a project called "Publius Reawakened," in which current and former Republican officials describe how they think Trump has damaged the country.

Its co-founder, former DHS assistant secretary, Elizabeth Neumann, said in a statement: "We will listen to Americans including those who have been harmed by the policies and rhetoric of the current administration, with the goal of restoring civil discourse and advocating for policies which recognize the dignity and worth of all people."

Another adviser of REPAIR, Olivia Troye, who was a former top homeland security aide to Vice President Mike Pence, accused Trump of weak leadership and of mismanaging the response to the coronavirus crisis.

"It was shocking hearing the president saying that the virus was a hoax," she said in a video on the Republican Voters Against Trump's YouTube channel.

Pence dismissed Troye's comments as those by "one more disgruntled employee that has decided to play politics during election year," The New York Times reported.

Last month, Trump dismissed REPAIR co-founder Taylor as a "disgruntled employee," tweeting: "He left & is on the open arms Fake News circuit. Said to be a real 'stiff'. They will take anyone against us!"

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.