On May 4, 2026, Politico columnist Jonathan Martin reported, citing multiple high-level GOP officials, that Trump and a handful of Senate Republicans were trying to persuade Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman to become a Republican, or at least an independent, to help the GOP keep its slim Senate majority. According to Politico, Trump “has made the sell, offering his patented total and complete endorsement plus a financial windfall,” and told one GOP senator he would prefer Fetterman make the full switch to Republican. Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who are close to Fetterman, were doing much of the courting.
Trump had already sent the pitch through Fox News host Sean Hannity in March. Interviewing Fetterman the next day, Hannity relayed Trump's message that Fetterman would have “our full support, more money than he ever dreamed of, and he's gonna win big.” Fetterman told Politico in an interview: “I'm not changing. I'm a Democrat, and I'm staying one.”
Fetterman has backed parts of Trump's agenda and broken with his party on Israel, immigration and the Iran war, and Trump calls him his “favorite Democrat.” The New Republic cited CNN polling showing his net approval among Pennsylvania Democrats fell from +68 in 2023 to -40 in 2026, and Punchbowl News reporting that none of his Pennsylvania House Democratic colleagues would back his 2028 reelection. What stands out is a sitting president personally dangling an endorsement and money to change a senator's party and, with it, control of the Senate.
Update (October 2, 2026): Fetterman has not switched. On September 9, he appeared by video at the Republican Party's midterm convention in Dallas to praise Sen. McCormick, calling himself “a common-sense Democrat,” the AP reported. He told Hannity the week before, “I'm not going to be a Republican.”
Correction (October 2, 2026): An earlier version said Trump “ordered” Senate Republicans to recruit Fetterman, that the package included Trump's “personal investment” in the race, that Fetterman spoke to Politico on May 4, and that his standing with Democrats came from Mother Jones reporting. It also tied the effort to suspending elections in Louisiana and mid-decade redistricting in Florida and Alabama as a coordinated scheme to engineer Congress. Politico, the original reporting, describes Trump making the pitch and telling one senator his preference, not issuing orders; the interview took place the Friday before publication; the polling is CNN's; and no source in the entry connects the effort to those other actions, so that material was removed. The Hannity quote now uses the wording the outlets agree on, since Politico and the New Republic transcribe its first clause differently.