To the great people of Utah:
We are a bipartisan group of proud former and retired senior public servants who dedicated, and in many cases risked, our lives in defense of our great nation. We are veterans, diplomats and national security officials. We are, above all, committed to the American idea that the people, free from the threat of violence and guided by the facts and their conscience, should choose their leaders. We served this nation because it defines democracy, codified in our Constitution.
That is why we, the undersigned, endorse Evan McMullin to serve the people of Utah as a U.S. senator. He is the leader Utah and the country need today.
McMullin is prepared to stand up against all that imperils our democracy. He will stand up to those who use violence to achieve political ends. He will stand up to people who lie about elections to protest outcomes they do not like. He will stand up to those who prefer the rule of authoritarians. He will stand up to those who circumvent the law to install their preferred candidates against the will of the people. He will stand up to those who think their power lets them trample regular people’s inalienable rights.
After years of service to this nation, we know moral courage when we see it. McMullin has the moral courage necessary to take on the most pressing threats to our essential yet fragile democracy. He is a patriot who understands that America is more than Red and Blue. He understands his job is to serve the country, not the party.
Many of us have served in dangerous assignments overseas. We know what happens when party loyalties replace patriotism. We know what happens when people decide violence is acceptable.
We support McMullin because, unlike his opponent, he understands that we cannot allow that to happen here. Democracy has been at the forefront of McMullin’s effort to replace Sen. Mike Lee. McMullin has released a detailed plan for democracy reforms, including strengthening voting rights, ending gerrymandering, toughening transparency and ethics laws and reducing the influence of money in politics. In addition, McMullin has built a cross-partisan coalition of support.
His opponent, Lee, has opposed efforts to address Utah’s water infrastructure, opposed efforts to reduce the cost of health care, and worked to overturn the 2020 election. He was at the center of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Lee pushed the White House to meet with disgraced attorney Sidney Powell, said he was working “14 hours a day” to help Trump “unravel” things, and advocated for fake electors to be sent by the states.
As former national security leaders, we all took oaths. Those oaths were not to an individual or a party. They were to the Constitution and the nation of laws it embodies. To this day, our oaths dictate our actions. McMullin clearly understands and respects our Constitution and nation’s laws.
Our oaths and our values dictate we support McMullin to represent Utah in the U.S. Senate. We hope your patriotism and your values guide you to vote for him as well.
Peter S. Cooke is a retired major general in the U.S. Army. This letter is signed by the following national security leaders:
Adm. Steve Abbot, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Brig. Gen. Clara L. Adams-Ender, Ph.D., U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Terry Adirim, M.D., program executive director, Department of Veterans Affairs ● Minister Counselor Karen Aguilar (Ret.), former political adviser, NATO SACT ● Eric Robert Allison, former deputy assistant director, Central Intelligence Agency ● Chuck Alsup, former assistant deputy director, Office of the Director of National Intelligence ● Brig. Gen. Jack Alfonso Apperson, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Rear Admiral Edward L. Baker, Jr., M.D., USPHS (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. James Arden Barnett Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.), former Bureau Chief, Federal Communications Commission ● Rear Adm. William D. Baumgartner, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. Charles J. Beers Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Emmett Beliveau, former director, White House Military Office ● Rear Adm. Yotam Ben-Artzi, M.D., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.), former regional health administrator, Department of Health & Human Services ● Ambassador Bruce G. Berton (Ret.) ● Hans Binnendijk, Ph.D., former senior director, National Security Council ● Charles Blanchard, former general counsel, Department of the Air Force ● Lt. Gen. Ronald R. Blanck, D.O., U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr., U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), former administrator, NASA ● Ambassador Michele Thoren Bond (Ret.), former assistant secretary of state ● Ambassador Amy L. Bondurant ● Paul L. Boyd, counselor (Ret.), U.S. Foreign Service ● Ambassador Aurelia E. Brazeal (Ret.), former deputy assistant secretary of state ● Ambassador James Walter Brewster Jr. ● Rear Adm. Claire V. Broome, M.D., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.), former deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health & Human Services ● Mark Brunner, former senior adviser to Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. ● Rear Adm. John D. Butler, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Louis E. Caldera, former secretary of the army ● Carlos Cardozo Campbell, former assistant secretary of commerce ● Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Brig. Gen. David P. Carey, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Patrick G. Carrick, Ph.D., former agency director, Department of Homeland Security ● Ambassador Phillip Carter III (Ret.), former principal deputy assistant secretary of state ● Ambassador Judith Beth Cefkin (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. Bill Center, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Richard A. Clarke, former special adviser to the president, National Security Council ● Rear Adm. Mitchell L. Cohen, M.D., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.) ● Harry Coker Jr., former executive director, National Security Agency ● Joseph John Collins, Ph.D., former deputy assistant secretary of defense ● Maj. Gen. Peter S. Cooke, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Thomas M. Countryman, former acting undersecretary of state WWW.NSL4A.ORG ● Ambassador Cindy L. Courville, Ph.D., former special assistant to the president, National Security Council ● Senior Chief Petty Officer Marilee Cunningham, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● William Daitch, former assistant director, Department of Homeland Security ● Richard Danzig, former secretary of the Navy ● Sgt. Maj. Kim Eugene Davis, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. Scott Deitchman, M.D., M.P.H., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.) ● David G. Delaney, former acting associate general counsel, Department of Homeland Security ● Ambassador Greg Delawie (Ret.), former deputy assistant secretary of state ● Brig. Gen. Barbara Doornink, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Brig. Gen. John Wade Douglass, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), former assistant secretary of defense ● John M. Doyon, former senior executive, National Security Agency ● Martha E. Duncan, former chief of HUMINT Enterprise Management, Department of Defense ● R.P. Eddy, former director, National Security Council ● Brig. Gen. Thomas N. Edmonds, J.D., U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Ambassador Gregory W. Engle (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen. William Enyart, U.S. Army (Ret.), former U.S. representative from Illinois ● Ambassador Kenneth Fairfax (Ret.) ● Brig. Gen. Robert John Felderman, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Ilsa E. Ferro, former chief of Equal Opportunity Office, Defense Intelligence Agency ● Maj. General Eugene Fox, U.S. Army (Ret.), former deputy director of the Strategic Defense Initiative, Department of Defense ● Brig. Gen. Martin E.B. France, Ph.D., U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Command Chief Master Sgt. Shelina Elizabeth Frey, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Command Chief Master Sgt. Dennis L. Fritz, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. James M. Galloway, M.D., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.), former regional health administrator, Department of Health & Human Services ● Lt. Gen. Walter Edward Gaskin, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) ● Brig. Gen. Robert A. Glacel, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Sherri Goodman, former deputy undersecretary of defense ● Rose Gottemoeller, former undersecretary of state ● Vice Adm. Kevin Patrick Green, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen. Richard S. Haddad, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. Marlene E. Haffner, M.D., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.), former director of the Office of Orphan Products Development, Food and Drug Administration ● Rear Adm. Janice M. Hamby, D.M., U.S. Navy (Ret.), former chancellor, College of Information and Cyberspace, National Defense University ● Ambassador S. Fitzgerald Haney ● Rear Adm. Bryan D. Hardin Sr., Ph.D., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.), former deputy director of NIOSH, Department of Health & Human Services ● Ambassador Anthony Harrington, former chair, President’s Intelligence Oversight Board ● Maj. Gen. Ralph Lewis Haynes, M.D., MBA, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Ambassador Bruce Alan Heyman WWW.NSL4A.ORG ● Eric L. Hirschhorn, former undersecretary of commerce ● Christopher J. Hoh, former senior adviser, State Department ● Sally K. Horn, former director, Office of the secretary of defense ● Sharon A. Houy, former chief of staff, Defense Intelligence Agency ● Ambassador Thomas N. Hull III (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen. Randy Jayne, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), former associate director, Office of Management & Budget ● Brig. Gen. James Darwin Johnson, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Master Chief Petty Officer Valerie Ann Johnston, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Brig. Gen. Jerome Jones, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. Douglas B. Kamerow, M.D., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.) ● Senior Chief Petty Officer Denis C. Kaufman, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Fleet Master Chief Raymond D. Kemp Sr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Ambassador Philip S. Kosnett (Ret.), former acting deputy assistant secretary of state ● Maj. Gen. Dennis John Laich, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Tom Lamont, former assistant secretary of the army ● David Lapan, former deputy assistant secretary of homeland security ● Rear Adm. Katharine L. Laughton, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Vice Adm. Michael A. LeFever, U.S. Navy (Ret), former director of Strategic Operational Planning, National Counterterrorism Center ● Gen. Alfonso E. Lenhardt, U.S. Army (Ret.), former ambassador, former acting administrator of USAID ● Bel Leong-Hong, former deputy assistant secretary of defense ● Maj. Gen. Steven J. Lepper, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. David M. Lichtman, M.D., USN (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. Samuel Lin, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, MPA, MS, U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.), former deputy assistant secretary of health & human services ● Rear Adm. Deborah Loewer, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Ambassador Carmen Lomellin ● Ambassador Ray Mabus, former secretary of the navy, former governor of Mississippi ● Rear Admiral Ron J. MacLaren, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen. Randy Manner, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Robert T. Marlow, former principal special assistant to the secretary of the air force ● Ambassador Niels Marquardt (Ret.) ● Brig. Gen. Carlos E. Martínez, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Keith J. Masback, former source operations director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency ● Vice Adm. John Matthew Mateczun, M.D., J.D., MPH, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Barbara Estock Mays, former special assistant, Defense Intelligence Agency ● Robert E. McDaniel, Esq., former director Legal Affairs, OSCE ● Vice Adm. Dennis V. McGinn, U.S. Navy (Ret.), former assistant secretary of the navy ● James F. McIlmail, former executive director, Defense Intelligence Agency ● Richard A. McSeveney, former program director, Deptartment of the Army ● Brig. Gen. Joseph V. Medina, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) WWW.NSL4A.ORG ● Ambassador James D. Melville Jr. (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. Jay R. Miller, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Ambassador Thomas J. Miller (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. Michael H. Mittelman, OD, MPH, MBA, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Brig. Gen. Mark A. Montjar, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Vice Admiral Edward Moore Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Edward T. Morehouse Jr., former acting assistant secretary of defense ● Robert J. Murray, former undersecretary of the navy ● Ambassador Allan Mustard (Ret.) ● Janet Ann Napolitano, former secretary of homeland security, former governor of Arizona ● Adm. John B. Nathman, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Brian H. Nilsson, former deputy assistant secretary of state ● John M. Nolan, former seputy postmaster general, U.S. Postal Service ● Rear Adm. Audrey Hart Nora, M.D., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen. Jim Nuttall, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. David Rogers Oliver Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Andy Ozment, Ph.D., former assistant secretary of homeland security ● Brig. Gen. Peter John Palmer, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Whitten Peters, former secretary of the air force ● Maj. Gen. Teresa M. Peterson, Ph.D., U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Annie Pforzheimer, former acting deputy assistant secretary of state ● William Piekney, former senior operations manager, Central Intelligence Agency ● Ambassador Steven Pifer (Ret.), former deputy assistant secretary of state ● Maj. Gen. James A. Pocock, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Edward Angus Powell Jr., former acting deputy secretary of veterans affairs ● Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Prather Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. William Lund Putnam, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen. Marilyn Quagliotti, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen. Mark R. Quantock, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Jim Raimondo, senior adviser of digital transformation, Department of the Navy ● Maj. Gen. William Michael Rajczak, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Ambassador Charles Ray (Ret.), former deputy assistant secretary of defense ● Brook Rich, spouse of retired senior military meader ● Rear Adm. Markham K. Rich, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Sandra V. Richardson, former deputy undersecretary of defense ● Vice Adm. Clyde E. Robbins, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.) ● Ambassador Thomas B. Robertson (Ret.), former dean of the Leadership and Management School, State Department ● Maj. Gen. Alan V. Rogers, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● John C. Rogers, former deputy assistant secretary of defense ● Maj. Gen. Patricia Ann Rose, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Ambassador Leslie V. Rowe (Ret.) ● Brig. Gen. Maritza Ryan, J.D., U.S. Army (Ret.) WWW.NSL4A.ORG ● Brig. Gen. Donald Frederick Schenk, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Ambassador James Schumaker (Ret.) ● Daniel C. Schwartz, former general counsel, National Security Agency ● Ambassador Tod Sedgwick ● Lt. Gen. Norm Seip, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Rhea D. Siers, former deputy assistant director, National Security Agency ● John R. Sipher, former chief of station, Central Intelligence Agency ● Ambassador Emil M. Skodon (Ret.) ● Ellen Waterfield Smith, spouse of retired senior military leader ● Rear Adm. Michael E. Smith, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. Steven Grayson Smith, U.S. Navy (Ret.), former director of disaster planning & risk management, Small Business Administration ● Stan Soloway, former deputy undersecretary of defense ● Ivo Spalatin, former senior policy adviser, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency ● Anne M. Squire, spouse of retired senior military leader ● Rear Admiral Todd Jay Squire, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Don Stanton, former deputy assistant secretary of defense ● Maj. Gen. Howard Douglas Stendahl, D.D., U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Rear Adm. William S. Stokes, D.V.M., U.S. Public Health Service (Ret.), former National Toxicology Program Center Director, National Institutes of Health ● Sgt. Maj. Kurtis J. Strickland, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Sgt. Maj. Peni Mene Sua, U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Gordon Sumner, Ph.D., former deputy assistant secretary of defense ● Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, M.D., U.S. Army (Ret.) ● Elizabeth M. Tamposi, Ph.D., former assistant secretary of state ● Helen Tierney, former assistant secretary of veterans affairs ● Maj. Gen. Jonathan Treacy, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Gregory Frye Treverton, former chair, National Intelligence Council ● Maj. Gen. Andrew Turley, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), former deputy general counsel, Department of the Air Force ● M. Ann Tutwiler, former deputy director general, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization ● Brig. Gen. William Uhle Jr., U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Thomas Umberg, former deputy director, Office of National Drug Control Policy, spouse of retired senior military leader ● Ambassador Alexander R. Vershbow (Ret.), former NATO deputy secretary general ● Alexander S. Vindman, former director, National Security Council ● Brig. Gen. George H. Walls Jr., U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) ● Ambassador James D. Walsh (Ret.) ● Jack H. Watson Jr., former White House chief of staff ● Andy Weber, former assistant secretary of defense ● Louis Malcolm Werdebach, former defense intelligence senior executive leader, Defense Intelligence Agency ● Ambassador David Bruce Wharton (Ret.), former acting undersecretary of state ● Maj. Gen. Deborah C. Wheeling, U.S. Army (Ret.) WWW.NSL4A.ORG ● Command Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas C. Whitney, U.S. Navy (Ret.) ● Jon A. Wiant, former deputy assistant secretary of state ● Sheila Evans Widnall, former secretary of the air force ● Sgt. Maj. Alexander Williams, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) ● Command Chief Master Sergeant Calvin D. Williams Sr., U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Doug Wilson, former assistant secretary of defense ● Brig, Gen, Daniel P. Woodward, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Maj. Gen.l Maggie Woodward, U.S. Air Force (Ret.) ● Patricia J. Zarodkiewicz, former administrative assistant to the secretary of the air force ● Joseph C. Zengerle, Esq., former assistant secretary of the air force ● Brig. Gen. Peter B. Zwack, U.S. Army (Ret.).