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A pair of retiring GOP lawmakers are asking the RNC to shift funds
Reps. Scott Rigell and Reid Ribble added their names to a request
A pair of House Republicans have added their names to a request for their party to stop funding Donald Trump at the top of its ticket.
Virginia Rep. Scott Rigell and Wisconsin Rep. Reid Ribble, both of whom are retiring, added their names to the request, along with former Reps. Bob Inglis, of South Carolina, and Jim Kolbe, of Arizona, said GOP operative Andrew Weinstein. Weinstein, who is coordinating the letter drive, said he now has 110 Republicans who have signed on.
“Evidence has shown that Trump is unable to be disciplined enough to run a viable campaign, so I think it’s best to use funds on races that we can win,” Ribble told CNN. “Given the likelihood of a Clinton administration, it will be essential that the House and Senate stay in Republican hands to serve as a check on Clinton’s agenda.”
The open letter to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, which was first released last week, is part of a growing push inside the party to protect margins inside the House and Senate, amid fears that Trump could drag the entire ticket if he keeps falling in the polls.
“Rather than throwing good money after bad, the RNC should shift its strategy and its resources to convince voters not to give Hillary Clinton the ‘blank check’ of a Democrat-controlled Congress to advance her big government agenda,” the anti-Trump Republicans write in the letter.
RNC chief strategist Sean Spicer said that there were no talks under way inside the RNC to move any money from Trump and said it would be almost impossible if they even wanted to. The problem with the argument from anti-Trump Republicans, he said, is that the GOP needs Trump headlining fundraisers to raise money for candidates at all levels.
“What money exists without a nominee who will raise the resources?” Spicer asked.
Dozens of top Republicans who used to hold office have denounced Trump recently, with some even endorsing Clinton. But few current officeholders have turned against Trump.
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, the son of Jeb Bush who is widely viewed as having greater ambitions, urged other Republicans to rally behind Trump.