John Thune opens the door for John Fetterman to join the Republican Party: 'We would certainly welcome him'

John Thune assured that Republicans in the Senate would welcome John Fetterman if he decided to switch parties. The Republican majority leader in the Senate made the remarks after the Pennsylvania senator spoke explicitly about the possibility of leaving the Democratic Party.

Recently, Fetterman spoke with several media outlets about what his "red line" would be for leaving the Democratic Party. "If the Democratic Party becomes official anti-Israel, then that’s when [it] would force me out," he told CNN's Manu Raju.

"Democrats, we always should support Israel. That’s our special ally, you know? In the only democracy in the entire region, that’s Israel. So I’m always proud to stand with Israel," he added in an interview with NBC News. He also argued that it would be a problem if the Democratic Party were to adopt the position that "'Israel is the problem, Israel doesn’t deserve to exist, and I’m never going to support aid, and I’m not going to call out Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran as terrorists, and they are the problem in the region."

In this context, Thune was asked about Fetterman's future during a press conference he held alongside Senate Republican leadership. Specifically, a reporter asked him whether Senate Republicans would accept the Pennsylvania Democrat's switch to the Republican Party, to which he replied: "Yes, we would welcome him. 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."

"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 added.