Michigan congressman leaves GOP over Trump's attempts to overturn the election
President Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election have driven one retiring lawmaker out of the Republican Party.
Michigan Rep. Paul Mitchell revealed in an interview with CNN on Monday he's quitting the GOP and becoming an independent, blasting Trump for continuously challenging President-elect Joe Biden's election win and Republican leaders for not shooting down his efforts.
"This party has to stand up for democracy first, for our Constitution first, and not political considerations," Mitchell told CNN. "Not to protect a candidate. Not simply for raw political power. And that's what I feel is going on, and I've had enough."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Mitchell, who noted he voted for Trump in the 2020 election and supported his policies "96 percent of the time," also released a copy of a letter to Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in which he writes that Trump's legal team has "failed to provide substantive evidence" of widespread voter fraud and urges Republican leaders not to "sit back and tolerate" his "unfounded conspiracy theories."
"With the leadership of the Republican Party and our Republican Conference in the House actively participating in at least some of those efforts, I fear long-term harm to our democracy," he writes.
Given that he only has a few weeks left in office, Mitchell acknowledges in his letter that this move is "symbolic." But he adds, "We all know that symbols matter." Brendan Morrow
-
How climate change is affecting ChristmasThe Explainer There may be a slim chance of future white Christmases
-
The MAGA civil war takes center stage at the Turning Point USA conferenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT ‘Americafest 2025’ was a who’s who of right-wing heavyweights eager to settle scores and lay claim to the future of MAGA
-
The 8 best drama movies of 2025the week recommends Nuclear war, dictatorship and the summer of 2020 highlight the most important and memorable films of 2025
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
