Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) who switched parties two years ago is urging Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) to become a Republican.
During an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, Van Drew said, “I surely hope that he will and I surely invite him to come into our party. I really believe he would be happier in the Republican Party.”
Van Drew went on to compare the response to Manchin’s announcement that he would not vote for the Build Back Better Act, to pressure he received from Democratic leadership to vote to impeach then-President Donald Trump in 2019.
“I wouldn’t vote for impeachment and I was beaten up by leadership in Washington, leadership back in the district. In fact, the last thing that was said to me, I’ll never forget it, was ‘You will obey.’ And I was threatened. And just like Joe Manchin’s from West Virginia, well I’m from New Jersey. And let me tell you, you don’t tell people from New Jersey they’re going to obey,” he said.
Watch the video below:
Van Drew went on, “For me, and again, parallel examples: It was impeachment, but it was many other things. It was the constant berating of the president, the lack of any bipartisanship, not giving us any information on the Republican side, which bothered me a lot because I don’t think that’s the way government should run.“
He added that he was “pushed and squeezed and pressed” after he voiced opposition to the impeachment effort.
“I’m happy as all to get out. I belong in the Republican Party. It’s a party that…No party is perfect, but does care about America, cares about our future, and does not want to make us a socialist, Marxist state,” Van Drew said.
Van Drew switched parties in 2019 after he voted against two articles of impeachment against Trump.
On Sunday, Manchin revealed that he would not support the spending package, which prompted a harsh statement from the White House and frustration among his fellow Democrats.
During an interview with a local radio station, Manchin addressed the pressure he received to vote for the bill. He said, “They figured surely to God we can move one person. We surely can badger and beat one person up. Surely we can get enough protesters to make that person uncomfortable enough that they’ll just say, ‘OK I’ll vote for anything.'”
“Well, guess what? I’m from West Virginia. I’m not from where they’re from and they can just beat the living crap out of people and think they’ll be submissive, period,” he added.
According to Axios, there is a concern in the Democratic Party that Manchin might leave the party. However, people close to him told the outlet he would likely become an independent and caucus with the Democrats, not a Republican, if he did switch his party identification.
