Centrist Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is pouring water on speculation that he might switch parties by declaring that he’s a Democrat at his core and that he would be “a terrible Republican.”
Fetterman insisted he hasn’t “changed” since winning the Pennsylvania Senate seat long held by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — a victory that helped Democrats keep their Senate majority in 2023 and 2024 — but argues the Democratic Party has.
“My party cannot simply be the opposite of whatever President Donald Trump says. The president could come out for ice cream and lazy Sundays, and my party would suddenly hate them. Such pointless pile-ons and attacks are unproductive,” Fetterman wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
He said “it wasn’t long ago” that Democrats shared many of Trump’s goals, such as a securing the border and preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
And he pointed out that it “wasn’t long ago when Democrats believed shutting our government down was wrong and put American livelihoods at risk,” he said, explaining his recent breaks with Democratic leaders over shutting down the government in the fall and shutting down the Department of Homeland Security in March and April.
“I took no pleasure in voting against my party. While the base targeted me for putting the country first, the demand to keep the lights on weighed more heavily than partisan games,” he wrote.
He also defended his staunch support for Israel and argued “it wasn’t long ago when we believed it was crucial to support allies such as Israel against threats to their safety and peace.”
“These once-common views have become increasingly toxic in the Democratic Party, a result of catering to the fringe and agitated parts of our base,” he said.
Fetterman revealed that protesters have followed him around Washington or have shown up at his home in Braddock, Pa., to call him a traitor “simply for voting my conscience, unapologetically standing with Israel and the global Jewish community, keeping our government open and our workers paid, securing our border.”
“My values have not changed, and I have always turned those kinds of ideals that defined being a Democrat,” he said, noting that he remains “strongly pro-choice, pro-weed, pro-LGBT, pro SNAP [and] pro-labor,” referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
For those reasons, Fetterman said he has “no plans” to leave the Democratic Party.
He said he will be “an independent voice that works with the other side to deliver for Pennsylvanians,” citing his cooperation with various GOP colleagues to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars for Pennsylvania projects, to unfreeze federal funding for transportation projects across Pennsylvania, and to allow SNAP recipients to use their benefits to buy hot rotisserie chicken.
He said Republicans who are dreaming about him joining the GOP need a reality check.
“I’d be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats,” he wrote.
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