MSNBC morning host and former congressman Joe Scarborough has announced that he is officially leaving the Republican Party.
Scarborough's announcement came Tuesday during an appearance with his fiancée, Mika Brzezinski, on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," the New York Post reports.
"The Late Show" teased the announcement in a tweet before the show.
.@JoeNBC announced that he's leaving #GOP to become an Independent. @StephenAtHome's full interview with Joe and @morningmika airs tonight! pic.twitter.com/OhLgXvYakH
— A Late Show (@colbertlateshow) July 11, 2017
"I am a Republican but I'm not gonna be a Republican anymore," Scarborough said. "I'm gonna become an Independent."
Scarborough's departure is not wholly surprising; he has been increasingly critical of the Republican Party in recent months. In May, in an extended rant on "Morning Joe," Scarborough said, "My party is going straight to hell."
Scarborough served in the House of Representatives as a Republican from Florida's first district from 1995 to 2001.
Scarborough and Brzezinski have recently found themselves in a public feud with President Donald Trump, exchanging verbal blows with the president over comments on Twitter. Trump touched off a firestorm last month when he claimed Brzezinski was bleeding from a face-lift during a meeting they had in Florida.