Washington, September 21 (RHC)-- Former U.S. President and long-time Republican George H.W. Bush is set to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the upcoming election, according to the niece of John F. Kennedy, marking a switch in party allegiance.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend made the comments on Facebook, where she posted a photograph of herself with the 91-year-old Bush Sr. with the caption: “The President told me he is voting for Hillary!”

In comments made to POLITICO, Townsend later confirmed she met with the former U.S. president in Maine earlier on Monday.  “That’s what he said,” she told the Washington, D.C.-based news and policy company.

The Bush family have declined to comment on the allegations.  Jim McGrath, a family spokesman, told the Guardian: “The vote President Bush will cast as a private citizen in some 50 days will be just that: a private vote cast in 50 days.  He is not commenting on the presidential race in the interim.”

Back in May both George H.W. Bush and his son, former president George W. Bush, announced they would not back Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 election.  It is believed the two were upset over a personal campaign waged by Trump against his competitor in the Republican race, the son of Bush Sr., Jeb Bush.  In one televised debate, Trump referred to Jeb as “an embarrassment to his family.”

Twitter users have also pointed to similarities between Clinton and the Bush family, especially in terms of foreign policy.  Between them, the Bush family have been responsible for the Gulf War, the 2003 invasion invasion of Iraq and the 2001 war on Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has long been labelled a “hawk” and voted in favor of the Iraq war, while also supporting the war in Afghanistan, “regime change” in Libya and support for opposition groups in Syria.

On September 12, journalist and lawyer Glenn Greenwald re-tweeted a comment made by David Frum, the Canadian-American neo-conservative and former speech-writer for George W. Bush, who said he and Hillary “overlap more than I do with many Republicans - and not just on foreign policy.”

From ex-national security advisor Brent Snowcroft to former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and former special assistant Shirin Tahir-Kheli, a raft of top-level Republicans have come out in support of Hillary Clinton over the past few months, including many from the administration of George W. Bush Jr.