Citing the Trump administration’s treatment of migrant families, two San Jose City Council members announced Monday they have left the Republican Party.
District 6 Councilwoman Dev Davis and District 10 Councilman Johnny Khamis, joined by former Assemblyman Jim Cunneen, called out national GOP leadership for failing to stand up to what they see as President Trump’s “unethical” policies at a news conference outside City Hall, saying they no longer recognize the party they joined years ago.
The announcement leaves just one Republican — District 4 Councilman Lan Diep — on the council, and could have repercussions with local Republican leadership come election time. While San Jose’s city elections are considered non-partisan, local GOP leaders have helped both Davis and Khamis get elected in the past, and would likely support them in future elections if they stayed in the party.
Khamis acknowledged the risks, but said his “conscience” is more important.
An immigrant who fled war-torn Lebanon as a young boy, Khamis said he “cannot imagine being separated from my mom and dad after losing our home in a war and entering a strange country.”
The Trump administration separated more than 2,000 migrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border before reversing course amid public outcry this month.
“I am not leaving the party,” Khamis said in a reference to his flight from the GOP. “I feel that the party has left me.”
Davis, likewise, said she’d spent months waiting for the national Republican Party to speak up against Trump’s threats to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which lets some undocumented young people remain in the country without fear of deportation, Trump’s comments equating neo-Nazis and civil rights protesters, and his threats against U.S. allies.
“But when Trump began separating asylum seekers from their children at the border, I could no longer wait for national Republican leaders to speak up,” said the mother of two adopted children who herself grew up with foster siblings. “I could not bear to see or even think about the unnecessary and traumatizing separation of children from their parents.”
“The Republican Party I joined stood for freedom over tyranny, fiscal responsibility, free trade, national security — but most importantly, the Republican Party I joined recognized the importance of families,” Davis said. “I still hold those values, but the Republican Party no longer does.”
Davis and Khamis re-registered as “no party preference.” Both took pains to say their views have not changed and are unlikely to shift just because their party affiliation has changed.
Yet it could make any future campaigns an uphill climb. Davis is up for re-election to the council in 2020, when Khamis will term out and could choose to seek higher office.
Bob Nuñez, the head of the Santa Clara County Republican Party, tried to talk both council members into working for change from within the party, but acknowledged he understands.
“At the end of the day, I think I understand what their reasons were,” he said.
“In general, the Republican Party always looks to endorse and support Republicans,” Nuñez continued. “But at the same time, we have supported persons in races when there’s not been a Republican in the race.”
Davis’ and Khamis’ beliefs in small government and their stance on taxes “still are those grounded in Republican beliefs,” he said, and ultimately, who the party supports will come down to which races are in question and who else is running.
It’s also possible that the two council members’ decision to split from the party could endear them to local conservatives, who may not be as supportive of the national GOP as other Republicans.
Diep, who considers himself center-right but worked to get former President Obama elected, said he’s supportive of his colleagues’ decision and equally appalled by some of Trump’s “horrendous” decisions, but is not currently interested in ditching the Republican Party.
“Yes, I’ve thought about leaving the Republican Party, but when I do it’ll be because I’m inspired by something new,” Diep said. “I won’t do it just by letting somebody else’s actions define what it means to be a Republican for me.”
“I know that the pendulum swings,” Diep continued, noting that it was Republican President Gerald Ford who urged Americans to welcome Vietnamese refugees to the country in the 1970s and Gov. Jerry Brown during his first stint as governor who initially rejected them.
Still, Davis, Khamis and Cunneen are not the first to leave the party. Cunneen’s former boss, Rep. Tom Campbell, left the party in 2016, and Nuñez acknowledged the local party has faced questions and concerns from some members about the Trump administration’s policies.
“We’re not alone,” Davis said.
