Republican Texas Rep. Will Hurd advocated for the protection of the whistleblower’s identity amid calls from many of his GOP colleagues for the whistleblower to be identified.

President Trump and other Republicans such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul have argued that the whistleblower must be identified if his or her testimony is the cornerstone of the House’s impeachment effort. During an interview on Fox News Sunday, Hurd, 42, broke from Trump and called for the whistleblower’s identity to be protected.

“I think we should be protecting the identity of the whistleblower,” Hurd said. “I’ve said that from the very beginning, because how we treat this whistleblower will impact whistleblowers in the future.”

The alleged whistleblower was named by RealClearInvestigations as Eric Ciaramella, a career CIA analyst who worked in the Obama administration as the Ukraine director on the National Security Council and worked for the Trump administration as senior director for European and Russian affairs. The Washington Examiner reported that Ciaramella, 33, now works as deputy national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia on the National Intelligence Council.

It has not been confirmed that Ciaramella is the whistleblower, but his chummy relationship with Joe Biden has sparked concern from some, including accusations that he was a “radical” from Trump.

Hurd agreed with members of his party that Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff should clarify his role in the whistleblower’s decision to come forward. Schiff knew of the whistleblower’s complaint before the letter was filed.

“What was his engagement with the whistleblower before the information, the whistleblower’s allegations, were transmitted to Congress?” asked Hurd. “He has misled the American public earlier in the year on what he knew about or the contact he had with the whistleblower.”

He added, “If you want to protect the identity of the whistleblower, I think it’s important for Chairman Schiff to answer questions about his interactions.”

Hurd joined the House Intelligence Committee in 2017. He worked for the CIA before being elected to Congress.