Defeated MAGA lawmaker has a novel plan to keep his 'congressman' title

Jeff Van Drew trashed for switching parties to defend Trump from impeachment: ‘Choosing the wrong side of history’; U.S. House Office of Photography, Office of Rep. Jeff Van Drew

Prior to Election Day 2026, President Donald Trump repeatedly stated that he would rather meddle in the elections than allow them to go to the Democrats. Instead of contesting the results, however, Trump surprised much of the political world by almost immediately conceding the results.

Yet according to a new report, there is at least one Trump Republican loyalist who — though willing to admit that he lost — nevertheless insists on maintaining some of the pretense of being a congressman: Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey

"Despite his defeat, Van Drew has no plans to disappear from public life," reported The New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein on Tuesday. "He said he intends to print new letterhead identifying himself as 'Congressman Emeritus' and will continue assisting constituents and local officials who seek his help."

Van Drew added to the Globe, “When people at the local level need advice and help, I’ll be there.”

Wildstein went on to explain that his defeat occurred in the context of Democrats pumping a lot of money into the traditionally conservative district. He also pointed out that Van Drew is following in a historic tradition of Republicans in that district being electorally penalized when the incumbent from their party is immersed in scandal.

"Van Drew is not the first South Jersey congressman to discover how quickly political fortunes can change," Wildstein wrote. "In 1974, four-term Republican Rep. Charles Sandman, a fierce defender of Richard Nixon who opposed his impeachment, lost his seat by 16 points to Democrat Bill Hughes in the Democratic wave that followed Watergate."

He continued, "Just two years earlier, Sandman had won re-election by 31 points — a staggering 47-point reversal in just two years."

In contrast to Van Drew, Trump has reportedly been in a somewhat subdued state since the midterm election defeats, an emotional situation that The New York Times compared to a state of denial.

"In the days since his defeat, he has sounded like a man in denial," reported The New York Times' Peter Baker on Sunday. "With his party still picking through the wreckage of a political earthquake, a seemingly oblivious President Trump signed a steel beam for his new White House ballroom and flew to Florida to give a speech on the space program. He seems flat these days, maybe a little dazed."

He went on, "Unlike other presidents who suffered midterm defeats, Mr. Trump has largely not acknowledged the setback. After Mr. Bush’s Republicans lost both houses in 2006, he admitted it was a 'thumping.' After President Barack Obama’s Democrats lost the House in 2010, he admitted it was a 'shellacking.' Mr. Trump, by contrast, has offered no expression of humility or much recognition of public discontent with him."

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