Jeffords Leaves GOP

W A S H I N G T O N, May 24 -- Democrats will regain control of the Senate following Vermont Sen. James Jeffords' decision to abandon the Republican Party and become an independent.

Ending days of speculation, Jeffords headed home to Vermont today, telling his constituents and a mob of reporters that he would give Democrats the key to power in the Senate.

"I will leave the Republican Party and become an independent," Jeffords said. "Control of the Senate will be changed by my decision."

Condemning the increasing control conservatives have gained at the White House and in Congress, Jeffords said he would throw his support behind Democrats for leadership positions. The move will give Democrats a 51-49 balance of power in the Senate. The current split is 50-50, with Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote tilting power to Republicans.

Jeffords, a lifelong Republican who was first elected to the Senate in 1988, told a cheering crowd he has been struggling with the decision for weeks.

"Increasingly I find myself in disagreement in my party," Jeffords said. "I understand that many people are more conservative than I am and they form the Republican Party. Given the changing nature of the national party it has become a struggle for our leaders to deal with me and for me to deal with them."

Last-Ditch GOP Effort Proves Futile

Republicans had spent much of Wednesday pleading with Jeffords — virtually offering him the moon and stars — to change his mind.

Sources tell ABCNEWS' Linda Douglass the pressure was intense, with nearly all of the 49 Republican senators meeting with him at some point during the day, either individually or in groups.

They tried guilt, telling him he was going to cost staffers their jobs. They tried essentially bribery, the leaders offering him a leadership position in the Senate and in the Republican Party. Some of the old guard Republican committee chairmen and others told him the move would dilute the voice of moderates in the Senate.