U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ), who we have reported on before, has simply had enough. He is done with the Democrats trying to impeach President Trump without any bipartisan support. He will be announcing a switch to the Republican party officially later this week according to the New York Times, who reports:
Representative Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, a moderate Democrat who is among his party’s staunchest opponents of impeaching President Trump, told aides on Saturday that he is planning to switch parties and declare himself a Republican as soon as next week, just as the House is casting its historic votes on articles of impeachment.
Apparently, Van Drew has run this idea by President Trump, seeking his approval and support. It looks like he is likely to gain that support as well, which would help him with his moderate base in his conservative rich district in New Jersey.
We have known for some time now how Van Drew felt on impeachment. Still, it’s rare for a politician to switch parties and this comes as a shock to all. The real question now is will he have a real Spartacus moment, unlike Cory Booker, who is flailing in the presidential primary polls, and cause others in the Democrat party who are unsure of the direction of the new radical left, to also bailout?
Former Press Secretary for President Trump tweeted out about the news. He says, “one down, 17 to go”. See the tweet below:
One down, 17 to go. cc @SpeakerPelosi https://t.co/vKwYUnvXDF
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) December 15, 2019
Not long ago, Van Drew insisted that although he disagreed with the impeachment of President Trump over the July 25th phone call with the Ukranian President Zelinsky, He would be staying in the Democrat party. Apparently Pelosi’s left has forced him to rethink. The New York Times also reports on this:
Last month, Mr. Van Drew vowed in a two-hour teleconference that he would remain a Democrat.
“I am absolutely not changing,” he said, stating his lifelong position as a moderate Democrat.
But conversations between Mr. Van Drew and top advisers to Mr. Trump intensified in recent days, according to a Republican familiar with the discussions, with the lawmaker making clear that he was nervous about losing his seat, either in a Democratic primary or the general election.
It will be interesting to see how Pelosi and the other House Democrats respond to this, and if there will be any pressure towards other Democrats to not even think about doing what dissident Drew has done. Only time will tell, and in D.C. right now as Christmas approaches, it seems things are moving quite fast.
