Republican Congressman Turned Independent Now Says He's Open to Caucusing With Dems [View all]

Source: MEDIAite

Mar 19th, 2026, 2:19 pm


Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA), who recently left the GOP to become an Independent, told Stephen A. Smith that he would be open to caucusing with Democrats if reelected to Congress.Kiley switched parties after changing districts due to California’s gerrymandering to make it more difficult for GOP members to keep their seats.

California gerrymandered its map, in a rare mid-decade move, following President Donald Trump’s urging Texas Republicans to eliminate the Democratic Party’s seats in that state, which they did. Kiley lost his committee assignments after switching parties, but is hoping to get them back.

Kiley was on SiriusXM’s Straight Shooter with Stephen A. on Thursday and was asked, “Will you still be caucusing with the Republicans?”.

“For the remainder of this term, yes, because that is the way the rules are set up right now is that essentially to be a fully functioning member of the House, you have to caucus with one of the two parties. And since that’s how I was elected at the beginning of this term, I think that makes sense,” Kiley replied.

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