Another senior official from George W. Bush's administration on Thursday endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, calling former President Donald Trump “perhaps the gravest threat to the rule of law in a generation.”
Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has voiced his support for Harris. Politico Op-EdHe said he “cannot sit back and do nothing” because President Trump is “looking at a return to the White House.”
“The Presidency of the United States is the most powerful position in the world. Of course, our Constitution, laws, and institutions like Congress and the courts provide guardrails to that power,” the 69-year-old former White House counsel wrote.
“The law provides certainty of accountability and basic fairness,” he said, “but the most important and surest check against abuse of power may be the president's integrity, honesty and respect for our institutions.”
“As the United States approaches a crucial election, I cannot stand by and watch as Donald Trump – perhaps the most serious threat to the rule of law in a generation – seeks a return to the White House,” he declared. “That is why, although I am a Republican, I have decided to support Kamala Harris for president.”
Gonzales also absolved Harris of responsibility for President Biden's most unpopular policy decisions regarding the economy and the U.S. border crisis.
“My experience has been that the vice president has little to no influence on economic policy,” he said. “The vice president can offer input, but the ultimate decision maker is the president.”
During her time in office, Harris has partially claimed credit for key executive decisions, including being “the last person in the room” before the disastrous start of the Afghanistan withdrawal.
“This president is a man of extraordinary courage,” she told CNN a week after the failed escape. “I've seen him time and time again, in my years in this job and studying these issues, make decisions based on what he truly believes – what he truly believes is right.”
Gonzalez also blasted Republicans in Congress for their “unwillingness to stop abuses of executive power,” even as he held Biden accountable for unconstitutional student loan forgiveness that was struck down by the Supreme Court last year.
He did not specify which abuses of power he was referring to, but argued that, by contrast, Harris “is a former district attorney and state attorney general who is committed to the rule of law.”
“While we may not agree with some of her policies, we expect her to listen to dissenting voices and always act in a way that respects the separation of powers,” Gonzalez speculated.
Both Harris and Biden have attacked the Supreme Court over its push for student loan forgiveness, the Second Amendment and its recent decisions on presidential immunity.
The Supreme Court also drew Gonzalez's ire for its June decision granting chief executives immunity from prosecution for “official duties” as part of the federal criminal proceedings brought against President Trump following allegations of 2020 election fraud and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Gonzalez said Trump “failed to exercise his executive powers in his duty to protect lawmakers, law enforcement and the Capitol from the attack by his supporters who breached the U.S. Capitol.”
Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney, endorsed Harris in a statement last week.
“In the 248-year history of our country, there has never been a greater threat to our country than Donald Trump,” said Cheney, 83. “He tried to steal the last election, using lies and violence to maintain his hold on power after it was rejected by the voters. We cannot entrust him with power again.”
“As citizens, we each have an obligation to put country above partisanship and uphold the Constitution,” he added. “That's why I will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Former President Bush endorsed Republican candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012, respectively, but has not publicly endorsed a presidential candidate since.
