GOP congressman says he'll vote for Libertarian ticket over Trump

Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., above, is challenging the U.S. Navy over its refusal to delay the layoff date for some 172 sailors so that they could meet their 15-year service mark, making them eligible for retirement pay. (AP)

Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va. said Saturday that he would support Libertarian Gary Johnson for president over GOP nominee Donald Trump.

"I’ve always said I will not vote for Donald Trump and I will not vote for Hillary Clinton," Rigell told The New York Times.

Rigell is the third Republican House member this week to say he would not vote for the real estate mogul, who has caused an uproar on the campaign trail with a series of controversial comments.

On Tuesday, Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y., wrote in an op-ed that he would vote for Clinton instead of Trump, whom Hanna called "offensive and narcissistic," as well as "a world-class panderer."

Both Hanna and Rigell are retiring from Congress following this election.

The day after Hanna's op-ed was published, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told CNN that he would not back Trump amid an ongoing war of words between the GOP nominee and the Muslim family of a fallen American soldier.

"Donald Trump for me is beginning to cross a lot of red lines in the unforgivable on politics," said Kinzinger. "He has crossed so many red lines that a Commander-in-Chief, or a candidate for Commander-in-Chief should never cross."

Kinzinger added that he would not vote for Clinton and was uncertain about whether to write in a candidate.

Rigell told the Times that he expected more GOP members of Congress and local officials to distance themselves from Trump as Election Day nears. He claimed that many Republican candidates have asked him for advice.

"When their own conscience is seared by some statement that Trump has made," Rigell said. "I have encouraged them to be direct and also, in a timely manner, repudiate what he said."

Rigell also vowed that he would leave the party and become an independent if Trump's campaign platform took hold in the party.

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