Former Trump Official Endorses Biden, Says Trump Claimed ‘Magical Authorities’ Beyond The Law

TOPLINE

Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security under President Trump, endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday, accusing Trump of withholding disaster aid to blue states for political reasons and claiming to be above the law, and warning of a “no holds barred” second term if Trump is reelected.

KEY FACTS

Key Background

A former national security advisor for the Bush Administration and Congressional Republicans, Taylor served in the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019 and was Secretary Kjersten Nielsen’s chief of staff. Following his departure from the administration in 2019 he joined Google to work on government affairs and national security issue – a move condemned by Democrats at the time over Taylor’s role in Trump’s Muslim ban and family seperation policy.

Crucial Quote

“Given what I have experienced in the administration, I have to support Joe Biden for president,” Taylor concluded. “Even though I’m not a Democrat, even though I disagree on key issues, I’m confident Joe Biden will protect the country. And I’m confident he won’t make the same mistakes as this president.”

Surprising Fact

Taylor is not the first former Trump official – or even the first former Trump administration Homeland Security official – to come out against the president in recent months. Following Trump’s crack down on George Floyd protesters in June, Trump’s former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wrote in an Atlantic op-ed that he was “angry and appalled” at Trump’s treatment of protesters, adding, “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try.” Former White House Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly concurred, stating “we need to look harder at who we elect.”

What To Watch For

Taylor isn’t even the first Republican to come out for Biden on Monday; former New York Rep. Susan Molinari and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman are both slated to appear at the Democratic National Convention on Biden’s behalf on Monday alongside Quibi CEO Meg Whitman and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich. But they may not be the last, as several sitting GOP senators have publicly and privately mused about not voting for Trump, with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) explicitly ruling it out.