cross the aisle

Verb

cross the aisle (third-person singular simple present crosses the aisle, present participle crossing the aisle, simple past and past participle crossed the aisle)

1. (US, idiomatic) To vote, unite, or otherwise co-operate with members of another political party in order to achieve governmental or political action.
   • It's voters who seem to want Republicans and Democrats in the next Congress to cross the aisle and try something different in Iraq.2006 October 24, “Commentary: How this US election may help Iraq”, in Christian Science Monitor, retrieved 27 Sep 2008
   • 2008: Fareed Zakaria, The Post-American World, Chapter VI
     The British prime minister doesn't need any support from the opposition party; he has a ruling majority by definition. The American system, by contrast, is one of shared power, overlapping functions, and checks and balances. Progress...

   Synonyms:

   cross the floor

2. (Canada, UK, idiomatic) Of a member of a parliament, to resign from one's political party and join another party, resulting in moving from one's currently assigned desk or seat in the legislative chamber to a new desk or seat physically located with the other members of one's new party.
   • Liberal members pounded their desks in delight as Social Crediter Horace (Bud) Olson (Medicine Hat) picked up his books and papers and crossed the aisle to take the last seat in the third row on the Government side. This symbolic gesture completed his defection.1967 September 26, Geoffrey Stevens, “Kind thoughts, gentle words, then House reverts to form”, in Globe and Mail, Canada, page 1
   • A Conservative member of Parliament crossed the aisle this weekend to join the resurgent Labor Party of Tony Blair.1995 October 9, John Darnton, “Tories, With a Bagful of Woes, Are Hurt by a Defection”, in New York Times, retrieved 27 Sep 2008