'Anonymous' author: 'Conservatives of conscience' needed in second Trump administration

Former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official Miles Taylor, who worked under the first Trump administration, called on “conservatives of conscience” to join President-elect Trump when he returns to the White House for a second term.

Taylor urged his fellow conservatives “not to run from him, as some might say they should. Instead, I urge them to join him, as I once did," in a Wednesday op-ed published by The New York Times.

“Republicans with integrity cannot turn away from the difficult years ahead,” Taylor wrote. “They should step forward and serve in the executive branch out of dedication to the principles that hold this country together, however tenuously.”

A fierce Trump critic, the former DHS chief of staff penned an anonymous op-ed in 2018 that excoriated the former president, calling him unstable and a danger to “the health of our Republic.” That piece — which published under “Anonymous” — also sought to portray himself as part of a “resistance” in the government seeking to rein in Trump's worst impulses.

Taylor left the administration in 2019 and came forward as the “Anonymous” author in October 2020. He had already been vocal in his opposition to Trump when he publicly admitted to writing the controversial opinion piece.

Taylor, in his latest op-ed, warned that Trump will soon “arrive at the White House not as an outsider, as he did for his first term, but as a man who sees his stunning re-election as vindication — a mandate to wield the presidency more assertively than before. He will return with fewer restraints and greater resolve.”

He added that the White House needs “principled conservatives” to serve “as a conscience” for America.

“Mr. Trump needs people around him who understand the functions of the executive branch and have a moral compass, especially in the realm of national security,” the former official wrote. “While many Reagan- and Bush-era conservatives have been driven from the party, there is an array of seasoned G.O.P. figures capable of stepping into these posts and leading agencies with a steady hand.”

Taylor said Republicans should join Trump’s next administration to “keep government limited and prevent abuses of power.”

“They might end up being the only reason Mr. Trump holds back from doing something unlawful — or at least, if they fail, they will be the only people to tell their fellow Americans the truth,” he added.

Taylor made clear he is not suggesting it would be the job of people in the second Trump administration to defy the president’s orders “as a matter of course," but said, "it is their job to follow the law and, if necessary, keep him from breaking it.”

“Believe me, he will try, whether deliberately or through sheer carelessness,” he said.

The Trump campaign attacked Taylor in a statement responding to the op-ed.

"Miles Taylor is a loser and a lying sack of s--- who disgraced his country and himself," Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote in a statement.

The Hill/Decision Desk HQ called the race for former President Trump over Vice President Harris early Wednesday. The vice president has since conceded the race and congratulated her GOP opponent on the victory, insisting on a peaceful transfer of power.