Overview
- Politico reported Monday that Republicans, guided by President Trump, are running a quiet campaign to flip Sen. John Fetterman or secure him as an independent who caucuses with the GOP.
- Trump has dangled a “total and complete endorsement” and major fundraising help, according to the report, while GOP senators have been sounding out Fetterman about his options.
- Fetterman says he will not switch parties, yet he has listened to an independence pitch in private and has grown close to Republicans like Sens. Katie Britt and Dave McCormick while spending time in the GOP cloakroom.
- A local backlash intensified as the Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Democratic Party labeled Fetterman a “traitor” and urged a 2028 primary after his Fox News interview about supporting some Trump cabinet picks.
- Recent polling shows Fetterman’s approval running higher among Republicans than Democrats in Pennsylvania, raising his leverage if Democrats net four seats in November since a defection could preserve GOP control and ease confirmations to the Supreme Court.