Rand Paul says Joe Manchin would bring 'important voice' to Republican Party if he defects

Sen. Rand Paul said centrist Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin would be welcome if he decided to join the GOP.

"We have an extra chair for him at lunch. It's sitting there waiting for him," Paul , a Kentucky Republican, told Fox News's Martha MacCallum on Wednesday. "We are ready to see him. We're a big party, and I think he'd have a place."

Manchin, who hails from West Virginia, dismissed speculation that he plans to leave the Democratic Party as "bulls***" after a Mother Jones report on Wednesday asserted he was entertaining the idea.

"He's a pro-energy senator from an adjacent state to mine, pro-coal, pro-fossil fuels," Paul said. "He's unacc... (Read more)

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