Trump Urges Democratic Senator John Fetterman To Join Republican Party

US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to join the Republican Party, making a direct pitch weeks before the November midterm elections that could determine control of Congress.

“I’d love to see him as a Republican,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews as he returned to Washington from a rally in Tennessee. “He does better as a Republican than he does as a Democrat.”

Trump’s remarks came as Republicans face the possibility of losing their Senate majority in the upcoming elections. Fetterman, who won his Senate seat in 2022, was once regarded as a rising Democratic star but has increasingly broken with his party on issues including immigration and Israel, fuelling speculation about a possible party switch.

A representative for Fetterman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Pennsylvania senator has repeatedly rejected the prospect of becoming a Republican. In a May opinion article for The Washington Post, he described himself as a “terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats.”

However, tensions with fellow Democrats have grown. Last month, Fetterman appeared in a video for a Republican midterm convention, praising Republican Senator Dave McCormick, his fellow Pennsylvania senator, while criticising what he described as extremism within his own party.

“I’m always going to stand with America,” Fetterman said in the video. “I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life.”

Fetterman’s outreach to Republicans could complicate his prospects of securing the Democratic nomination for another Senate term, a possibility Trump highlighted while encouraging him to switch parties.

Democrats need to gain four Senate seats to secure a majority, a goal that has become more plausible amid concerns over Trump’s popularity and the economic impact of the war involving Iran. However, the outcome remains uncertain, with Republicans seeking to retain control of the chamber.

A Democratic majority of 51 seats could also give Fetterman greater influence in the Senate, potentially reducing the incentive for him to change parties.

The most recent major Senate party switch to affect control of the chamber came in 2001, when Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party to become an independent who caucused with Democrats, giving them a narrow majority. In 2009, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter switched from the Republicans to the Democrats, helping the party move closer to a filibuster-proof Senate majority.