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Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., on Republicans encouraging Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to switch parties.<\/p>\n
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell<\/u>, R-Ky., has continued pitching Sen. Joe Manchin<\/u>, D-W.Va., on switching parties, remarking that the West Virginia Democrat “feels like a man alone” in his party.<\/p>\n
McConnell made his latest pitch to Manchin while speaking to conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, who asked the top Senate Republican if he had talked to the Democratic senator on if he would take the next exit into the GOP.<\/p>\n
“Well, you know, as I\u2019ve said the last couple of days, I\u2019ve had this conversation with him off and on for a couple of years,” McConnell said, elaborating that he and Manchin “come from states that have a lot in common, that have become increasingly red over the last decade or so.”<\/p>\n
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\n Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters at the Capitol on Oct. 19, 2021. “And I think what Manchin is discovering is that there just aren\u2019t any Democrats left in the Senate that are pro-life and terribly concerned about debt and deficit and inflation,” McConnell continued. “So he feels like a man alone.”<\/p>\n McConnell also said that if Manchin “were to join” the GOP, “he\u2019d be joining a lot of folks who have similar views on a whole range of issues.”<\/p>\n The Senate minority leader also said he would “talk” to Manchin about keeping the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee gavel, but did not give a firm yes or no on whether that would happen.<\/p>\n \n President Trump embraces Sen. Joe Manchin after the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 30, 2018. If Manchin were to switch parties and become a Republican, it would give the GOP control of the Senate with a slim 51-senator majority.<\/p>\n However, the flip would also pose an interesting question on who would lead the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee \u2013 Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming is the current lead Republican on the committee and would be next in line for the chair should the Senate flip.<\/p>\n
\n (AP Photo\/Andrew Harnik)<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/640\/320\/Donald-Trump-Joe-Manchin.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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\n (Saul Loeb\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/640\/320\/manchin-reporters-.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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