James Comey drops a surprising tweet about the midterms - here's what he said

James Comey, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said Tuesday that Americans should vote for Democrats in the midterm election because Congress has failed to reign in President Donald Trump.

"This Republican Congress has proven incapable of fulfilling the Founders’ design that 'Ambition must ... counteract ambition.,' he tweeted, quoting James Madison in the Federalist Papers.

"All who believe in this country’s values must vote for Democrats this fall," he added. "Policy differences don’t matter right now. History has its eyes on us."

The surprising statement of support for the Democrats came a day after Comey criticized the president, who had fired him early in his term, over his summit with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.

"This was the day an American president stood on foreign soil next to a murderous lying thug and refused to back his own country," Comey tweeted Monday.

"Patriots need to stand up and reject the behavior of this president," he added.

Comey has been a longtime Republican and served under Republican presidents, but he clearly signified that he was endorsing Democrats not out of support for their ideology but because he thought Trump was a greater threat to the Republic.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) welcomed the endorsement from the former FBI chief.

"Thank you, Director. This is not about a political party, it’s about the idea of America," Swalwell tweeted. "An idea that is dramatically at odds with the country @realDonaldTrump has sided with."

"If you believe in that idea — freedom/opportunity — punch back & defend it now," he added. "It’s on the ropes."

Democrats are hopeful for a "blue wave" to counteract Trump, but recent polling has shown their wave crashing into a red wall of Republican support.