Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says Trump asked her to switch parties

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp at Trump Tower in December 2016.
(Image credit: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images)

If President Trump had his way, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) would have an R next to her name, rather than a D.

In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Heitkamp revealed that when she met with Trump in December 2016, "he asked me to switch parties." Heitkamp was at Trump Tower to discuss his incoming administration, and there had been rumblings that he might pick the moderate Democrat for his Cabinet. Heitkamp told the Post she "just laughed" at the notion of switching parties, adding, "I think he knows it's not going to happen."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.