During the impeachment there were only two Democrats to vote against convening, one of them was New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew. He has now informed his staff that he will be switching to the Republican party.
Van Drew voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election and is a true moderate.
Other Democrats who have spoken to him say that this change comes as no surprise.
The final straw came for Van Drew when he realized that is he didn’t leave the party, he feared they would run someone more extreme against him in the primary. Besides, the Democratic party has moved way too far to the left and there is no coming back from that.
This change takes the Republican’s magic number to regain control of the House from 19 to 18.
Ever since Trump won the election in 2016 there has been a lot of tension between party leaders and representatives. The result of the impeachment really tells the story of how deep their trepidation actually is.
Van Drew had been under discussions with senior Trump administration officials about switching parties, according to a Saturday report from The New York Times.
A moderate Democrat who has been a firm opponent of impeaching President Donald Trump, Van Drew was reportedly considering the switch in part to avoid a Democratic primary challenge in his district.
An official announcement from the congressman could come next week. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee cleared the way on Friday for a full House vote on impeachment, which could take place as early as Wednesday.
The Times report was sourced anonymously by one Republican and two Democrats. The Republican source claimed that ongoing conversations between the two parties “intensified late last week” and that Van Drew was “nervous about losing his seat, either in a Democratic primary or the general election.”
