Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is facing criticism from his own party after openly disagreeing with key Democratic positions during a bipartisan discussion, especially on Israel, border security, and engagement with President Donald Trump.
Fetterman has once again made headlines by breaking his party’s narrative and aligning with his Republican counterpart, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA). He criticized fellow Democrats’ positions on Israel and immigration, saying his party has "lost the argument" on combating antisemitism and supporting Israel.
“That's part of the bipartisanship where, you know, it's getting more and more kind of, punitive to just agree with some of these things in the middle of the party right now," Fetterman said. “For me, that moral clarity, it's really firmly on Israel. I refuse to allow to try to turn Israel into a pariah state, and that's right in the middle of that.”
Fetterman also addressed the Democratic Party’s stance on Trump’s Middle East policies, saying he is the only Democrat who believes the president has achieved success in the region.
“I wasn't really allowed to disagree, politically, with the original agreement on Iran," he said.
The senator acknowledged that his party made a mistake on the border issue. Fetterman said he supported the Trump administration’s spending package of over $150 billion, which funded the border wall, strengthened Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and built new immigration detention centers and facilities.
“That's a mistake that our party made, and that's the border," he added. "I absolutely support those kinds of investments to make our border secure as well.”
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“We can all agree that’s wrong,” Fetterman continued. "Being very pro-immigration as [a] Democrat, it's like you're trying to think two things must be true, and sometimes that's put me at the odds of my party and my base to assume that I changed my values, and that's never changed. That's never changed.”
Fetterman also took a subtle jab at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) handling of government funding. He criticized Schumer for handling a recent government funding standoff, in which Schumer ultimately backed down from a potential shutdown over Republican budget demands. Fetterman clarified that he opposes government shutdowns, saying, "I refuse to ever shut our government down." He emphasized his commitment to staying involved in negotiations, even if it means facing backlash, stating that taking the political heat is part of what "defines leadership.”
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