Impeachment drama: Democrat defects after plea from Trump
- Democrat-controlled House expected vote to impeach US President Donald Trump
- The Republican-controlled Senate is then all but certain to acquit Trump after a trial in January
A anti-impeachment Democrat congressman will join the Republican Party in the coming days – delivering a political jolt to Democrats ahead of this week’s expected vote to impeach US President Donald Trump.
Jeff Van Drew, a House freshman from New Jersey, joined Trump for a lengthy Friday meeting, during which Trump urged him to join the Republican Party.
Top House Republicans and House Democratic leaders have been told of Van Drew’s decision, according to officials familiar with conversations.
Trump will undoubtedly hail the move as a sign that the impeachment “hoax” is faltering just as the full House of Representatives prepares to vote on impeachment this coming week.
Van Drew’s decision underscores the pressures facing moderate Democrats from Trump-leaning districts as this week’s impeachment vote approaches. Van Drew won his southern New Jersey district by 8 percentage points last year, but Trump carried it by 5 points in 2016 and Van Drew was considered one of the more vulnerable House Democrats going into next November’s congressional elections.