Trump on Democrat’s reported switch to GOP: ‘Wow that would be big’

President Trump early Sunday weighed in on reports that Democratic Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (N.J.), a vocal opponent of impeachment, plans to switch parties.

“Wow, that would be big. Always heard Jeff is very smart!” Trump said in a tweet.

Wow, that would be big. Always heard Jeff is very smart! https://t.co/7yDPU4N3wd

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2019

“Thank you for your honesty Jeff. All of the Democrats know you are right, but unlike you, they don’t have the ‘guts’ to say so!” the president added in another post.

Thank you for your honesty Jeff. All of the Democrats know you are right, but unlike you, they don’t have the “guts” to say so! https://t.co/OUc46HUwPq

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2019

The Hill and other news outlets reported Saturday that Van Drew was poised to join the GOP after meeting with Trump on Friday.

Van Drew, who replaced Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) in a historically red district, has moved to distance himself from the liberal wing of the House Democratic Caucus. He voted “present” during the election of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for speaker in January and joined the conservative-leaning Blue Dog Democrats shortly thereafter.

In October, Van Drew voted against the package of rules governing the impeachment process and has vowed since then to oppose any impeachment articles that come to the floor related to Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

Van Drew has said Trump’s handling of foreign policy in Kyiv does not merit his removal, and that Trump would use his expected acquittal in the Senate as ammunition on the campaign trail to target Democrats.

“An article of impeachment is a very specific, very serious action, literally akin to declaring war, because you’re disenfranchising voters,” Van Drew told reporters last week. “So some folks … may not like the people that voted for Trump, but they still voted. So millions of those folks would be disenfranchised.”

He added that: “All of this, at the end of the day, is not going to matter. Because … it’s going to go to the Senate, and at the end of the day the Senate’s going to say he’s not guilty.”

“Then he is going to speak about that — a lot.”

A full House vote on two articles of impeachment against Trump is expected on Wednesday after a party-line vote in the House Judiciary Committee.

Scott Wong and Mike Lillis contributed to this report, which was updated at 7:42 a.m.