Thune: Republicans would welcome Fetterman joining Senate GOP conference

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Tuesday that Republicans would “welcome” Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) into their conference if he decides to leave the Democratic Party over growing hostility to Isreal among progressive Democrats.

“Yes, we would welcome him,” Thune said when asked whether Republicans would roll out the red carpet for Fetterman if he ever decides to leave the Democratic Party.

Thune said he’s had “conversations” with the maverick Democratic senator — as have several other GOP colleagues – about a potential party switch.

“I have had conversations with him in the past as have many of my colleagues about the challenges he faces in his caucus. And there are many of us who, I think, would welcome the opportunity to have him join the Republican conference but ultimately that’s a decision that’s up to him,” Thune said.

Thune argued that the Democratic Party is “moving further and further, more radically, to the more extreme left on a lot of issues.”

“I think people like John Fetterman who have views that probably reflect a more moderate or at least historically moderate Democrat position are really people without a home. If he ever comes to the conclusion that he’s ready to move, we would certainly welcome it,” he said.

Thune made his comment after Fetterman said at Hill Nation Summit last week that he would leave the Democratic Party if it turns its back on Israel entirely.

“If our party ever becomes — and just makes it official — the anti-Israel party, that’s when I would leave because that’s been a moral clarity for me,” he said at the Hill Nation Summit in Washington.

Fetterman said he “can’t understand why the Democratic Party” would turn against Israel, a long-time ally that is often described as the most functional democracy in the Middle East.

Fetterman says he has a major “concern” about growing criticism of Israel among the Democratic Party’s progressive base.  

“My long-term concern has been with the Democratic Party, as I am a member of that, is that our party is going to back away and turn their back to Israel,” he said.

Yet Fetterman has downplayed the chances of him leaving the party, pointing out that he agrees with Democrats on many issues.

He reiterated last week that he has “no plans” to leave.

“My values have not changed, and I have always turned to those kinds of ideals that defined being a Democrat,” Fetterman wrote in a Washington Post op-ed in May. “I remain strongly pro-choice, pro-weed, pro-LGBT, pro-SNAP, pro-labor and even pro-rib-eye over bio slop. I refuse to cave on my conscience because Pennsylvania deserves someone who is honest and can work across the aisle.”

The last two senators to leave the Democratic Party were moderate Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kirsten Sinema (Ariz.), who announced they would become independents.

Manchin left the Democratic Party in May of 2024 while Sinema left in December of 2022. Both moderates, however, continued to caucus with Democrats.

The Democratic caucus currently counts two independents in its membership, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a progressive, and Angus King (I-Maine), a centrist.

Before them, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter left the Republican Party in April of 2009 because he felt he could not win the Senate Republican primary for re-election to a sixth Senate term.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.