Retired federal appeals court Judge J. Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative legal scholar appointed by President George H.W. Bush, has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election. Luttig, who has served in two Republican administrations, describes former President Donald Trump as an existential threat to American democracy. This marks the first time Luttig has voted for a Democrat.
In a statement obtained exclusively by CNN, Luttig wrote, “In the presidential election of 2024, there is only one political party and one candidate for the presidency that can claim the mantle of defender and protector of America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law. As a result, I will unhesitatingly vote for the Democratic Party’s candidate for the Presidency of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.”
Luttig gained recognition for his role in persuading then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. At the request of Pence’s attorney, Luttig publicly outlined the legal rationale for Pence to certify Joe Biden’s victory. Since then, Luttig has emerged as a leading constitutional critic of Trump.
In endorsing Harris, Luttig acknowledged their political differences, stating, “I assume that her public policy views are vastly different from my own, but I am indifferent in this election as to her policy views on any issues other than America’s Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law, as I believe all Americans should be.”
Luttig’s scathing rebuke of Trump underscores the divide between Republicans from the Reagan and Bush eras and the modern GOP dominated by Trump. Luttig argues that both Trump and the current Republican Party have launched “the war on America’s Democracy,” the effects of which, he says, will be felt for generations.
“Because of the former president’s continued, knowingly false claims that he won the 2020 election, millions of Americans no longer have faith and confidence in our national elections, and many never will again,” Luttig stated. He added, “Many Americans – especially young Americans, tragically – have even begun to question whether constitutional democracy is the best form of self-government for America.”
Luttig compares the current stakes to those of the late 18th century when the country’s founders, including Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, united to voice concerns over the rise of authoritarian demagogues. “The time for America’s choosing has come,” he wrote. “It is time for all Americans to stand and affirm whether they believe in American Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law, and want for America the same – or whether they do not.”
Although this is the first time Luttig will vote for a Democrat, he has supported some decisions by the Biden administration following the January 6 insurrection. For example, Luttig endorsed the 2022 nomination of now-Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, criticizing Republicans who opposed her confirmation.
Luttig joins other high-profile Republicans in endorsing Harris, including former Congress members Joe Walsh, Barbara Comstock, and Adam Kinzinger. Kinzinger, now a CNN contributor, is expected to have a speaking role at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, while former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan also recently endorsed Harris, calling her campaign “the best vehicle toward preventing another stained Trump presidency.”
Speaking to CNN, Luttig explained his decision to endorse Harris as a matter of moral duty. “In my faith, we believe that we will one day answer for our wrongs. I have always tried to live my life in anticipation of that day. Imperfectly, to be sure. But I have tried,” Luttig said. “My endorsement of the Vice President was the right thing to do. It would have been wrong for me to stay silent, and I believe I would have one day had to answer for that silence. It’s really that simple.”
