Trump thanks Democrat considering switching parties as he announces plan to vote against impeachment

Donald Trump has thanked a Democratic congressman, believed to be considering switching parties, after the New Jersey politician said he would vote against House articles of impeachment against the president.

Jeff Van Drew, who was elected in 2018 and has become an outspoken Democratic critic of the impeachment proceedings, confirmed last week his position has “never changed” and he was still planning on voting against the impeachment articles. Media reports suggested Mr Drew was considering switching to the Republican party.

“Thank you for your honesty, Jeff”, the president wrote in a tweet on Saturday night. “All of the Democrats know you are right, but unlike you, they don’t have the ‘guts’ to say so!”

Mr Van Drew had lost significant support from within his party by the time he made the decision to switch to the Republican side, in the hopes that he would have a better shot at competing in the state primaries next year, according to the New York Times.

He has since met with members of the president’s orbit and held high-level meetings with administration officials in which his plans to switch parties were reportedly discussed.

After thanking the congressman for his intention to vote against impeachment, Mr Trump tweeted news about how Mr Van Drew was considering switching parties after meeting with the president on Friday.

“Wow, that would be big”, the president wrote.

He added: “Always heard Jeff is very smart!”

If Mr Van Drew goes forward with switching to the Republican party, he’d mark a rare defection from the Democratic majority in the House as it appears set to pass both articles impeaching Mr Trump for abuse of power and obstructing Congress surrounding his dealings with Ukraine.

The vote, which could arrive as early as Monday, was expected to make Mr Trump the third US president in history to be impeached by Congress.

As the president and his allies have railed against the impeachment proceedings in recent weeks, Democrats made a last-ditch effort for Republicans to put aside politics and address what they view as a “clear and present danger” to US democracy.

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said on Sunday Mr Trump’s “misconduct hasn’t stopped” in spite of the proceedings against him during an interview on ABC’s This Week.

“The threat to our election integrity ... goes on”, he added.

“It's a clear and present danger, I think, to our democracy and not something that we can turn away from simply because the Republicans in the House refuse to do their duty."

Republican officials like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have meanwhile said they intend on coordinating a possible Senate trial with the White House — meaning the president’s demands for Joe Biden and others to be called for testimony may become a reality in the coming months.

However, Mr McConnel has also suggested holding a brief impeachment trial in which no witnesses would be called. House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said on Sunday such an act would be a disservice to the American public, Reuters reported.