Cheri Bustos, the chairwoman of House Democrats’ campaign arm, said her organization would hire former staffers to congressman Jeff van Drew who resigned in protest over his decision to join the Republican Party.
Bustos followed that tweet with a fundraising pitch, asking supporters to help keep Van Drew’s district in Democratic hands by donating to the DCCC.
At least six staffers for congressman Jeff Van Drew have reportedly resigned following reports that the freshman Democrat, who has denounced the impeachment inquiry, would switch his party affiliation to Republican this week.
The staffers wrote in a letter that they were “deeply saddened and disappointed” by Van Drew’s decision, which they said “does not align with the values we brought to this job when we joined his office.”
Van Drew has criticized Democratic leadership for their handling of the impeachment inquiry, arguing they have made it into a political exercise. “It was supposed to be bipartisan, it was supposed to be incontrovertible. It was
supposed to be something that was always on the rarest of circumstances,” Van Drew said last week. “Well it’s not bipartisan.”
Van Drew’s reported decision to switch parties comes after a Friday meeting with Trump, as well as polling showing a majority of his constituents want to see a new Democratic candidate on the ballot next year.
