Republicans for the Rule of Law is the principal initiative of the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, anti-

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

political group Defending Democracy Together, founded by Bill Kristol, Mona Charen, Linda Chavez, Sarah Longwell, and Andy Zwick in 2019. The project, a

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. ...

(social welfare) group, created an advertising campaign to pressure Republican members of Congress to "demand the facts" about the Trump-Ukraine scandal during the

impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump The inquiry process which preceded the first impeachment of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States, was initiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on September 24, 2019, after a whistleblower alleged that Donald Trump may have ab ...

Group

The group describes itself as "life-long Republicans dedicated to defending the institutions of our republic and upholding the rule of law" and primarily consists of traditionally Republican lawyers. The group's legal advisory board includes Charles Fried, who served as U.S. Solicitor General under Ronald Reagan, Wendell Willkie II, grandson of 1940 Republican presidential nominee

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

and Chris Truax, the group's spokesman. Former Republican U.S. Senator

Slade Gorton Thomas Slade Gorton III (January 8, 1928 – August 19, 2020) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Washington from 1981 to 1987 and again from 1989 until 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he he ...

of Washington state also served on the group's board.

Ad campaign

As the movement to impeach Trump got underway, the group spent over $1 million running

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

advertisements on

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...

and

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...

, calling on Republicans to "demand the facts" about Trump and Ukraine. The ad campaign, which included digital as well as television advertising, targeted a dozen Republican Senators as well as

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

swing districts currently represented by Republicans, including Fred Upton (Michigan), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania), Will Hurd (Texas), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Washington), and

Mark Amodei Mark Eugene Amodei ( ; born June 12, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Nevada's 2nd congressional district since 2011. The only Republican in Nevada's congressional delegation since 2019, Amodei ...

(Nevada). The group's ad campaigns also accuse Trump of abusing his office to enrich himself, citing Trump's attempt to hold the 2020 G7 summit at Trump's own Doral resort, and encourage Republicans to publicly oppose Trump's efforts to solicit

foreign interference Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

in U.S. elections. The ads air on programs that attract Republican voters, including ''

Fox & Friends ''Fox & Friends'' is an American daily morning news and talk program that airs on Fox News. It premiered on February 1, 1998, and is currently hosted by Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on weekdays. Will Cain, Rachel Campos ...

.'' ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' columnist Jennifer Rubin calls the ads "devastating" to Trump's credibility.

Affiliated organizations

In 2020, the organization launched Republican Voters Against Trump for the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle.

References

{{reflist

External links

Defending Democracy TogetherRepublicans for the Rule of Law''Republicans for the Rule of Law'' YouTube channel
501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations Republican Party (United States) organizations Never Trump movement Political organizations established in 2019 2019 establishments in the United States

Group

Ad campaign

Affiliated organizations

See also

References

External links