© Provided by CNETCan a new movement move the Republican party away from Donald Trump? James Martin/CNET
Frustrated by the direction their party has taken since Donald Trump was nominated for the presidency, a group of Republican leaders are pushing to "rededicate" the GOP around its founding ideals. The group, spearheaded by Republican and independent leaders, made their intention known on Thursday in a public declaration titled "A Call for American Renewal." More than 150 leaders of the party have joined.
© James Martin/CNET Can a new movement move the Republican party away from Donald Trump?
"We will not wait forever for the GOP to clean up its act," Miles Taylor, a founder of the movement tweeted after releasing the five-page document outlining the group's concerns and goals. "If we cannot save the Republican Party from itself, we will help save America from extremist elements in the Republican Party."
Here's what the group hopes to accomplish and who is in it. For more on what Washington is doing now, here is when you can expect to start receiving your first child tax credit payment, what is happening with the federal unemployment payments and what the chances are for a fourth stimulus check.
Child tax credit: How much are you getting?
![UP NEXT]()
UP NEXT
Why would Republicans want to form a new movement or a new party?
The movement describes itself as consisting of local, state and national leaders. The members seek to form a "common-sense coalition" that will work to overcome the "division and political extremism" of the current political system.
"There is a cohort of people who want a 'I'm not crazy' coalition that they can join," according to Taylor, who is also the author of a New York Times op-ed that criticized the Trump administration during the middle of the 45th president's term. The piece was attributed to "Anonymous," who was described at the time as a senior administration official.
Concern among some Republicans about their party's direction isn't new. Trump's 2016 candidacy prompted a small, loosely knit group of "Never Trumpers" that spanned party leaders to newspaper columnists, who fought to keep the property magnate and reality television star from being nominated.
© Provided by CNETA group of Republicans are looking for another path for their party. Pixaby
Who supports the new political movement?
The Republican and independent political leaders who signed the declaration include former members of Congress (such as Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock), former governors (New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, for example), members of the Trump administration (Trump White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci, among others) and political commentators (including Bill O'Reilly).
Can the new anti-Trump group successfully create a movement or even a new party?
Dissatisfaction within a political party is nothing new. The Tea Party movement that started around 2009, for example, called for the Republican party to embrace more fiscally conservative policies. On the left, supporters of the Green New Deal since 2019 have pushed Democrats to focus on climate change.
At the national level, creating a new third party would face an uphill battle to become viable. The grip the Democratic and Republican parties have on the national political structure -- and the winner-take-all nature of the Electoral College -- works to keep a third party from gaining a foothold.
For more on what is happening at the national level, here's how to check on the status of your income tax refund, how much you could expect to receive with the advance child tax credit and what President Joe Biden is considering in his next two stimulus proposals.