While Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman remains firmly within his party, he has increasingly carved out a reputation as an independent voice caught between two political worlds. The hoodie-clad senator has shown a willingness to challenge his party’s progressive orthodoxy, but he has also made clear that he has no intention of crossing the aisle to join the Republicans.
But whatever he does, Fetterman is continuing to drive his current party over the edge:Fetterman told reporters he would back Republicans in using the “nuclear option” to eliminate the Senate filibuster in order to pass legislation to reopen the government.
Fetterman warned that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is nearing the end of its financial stability, and his constituents “need to eat” as the government shutdown now enters its fourth week.
The shutdown reached its 20th day on Monday, making it the longest full shutdown in history. On Monday evening, the Senate failed once again to pass a continuing resolution that had cleared the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) continues to hold the government — and by extension, the country — hostage.
As usual, Fetterman stood out for speaking plainly and directly about the shutdown, using language ordinary Americans can relate to — a sharp contrast to the polished spin, double-talk, and word salads that have become trademarks of Democratic leaders like former Vice President Kamala Harris.
“There are no winners here. It’s not getting better every day here. People are going to start to get really hungry, and I’ve been fully, fully committed to fund SNAP. This is just bad political theater. Open it up,” he said.
When asked whether he would back Republican efforts to “nuke” the filibuster — scrapping the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and moving to a simple-majority vote on the House-passed funding bill — Fetterman didn’t dance around the question. He gave his answer straight, as he usually does, without the usual Washington spin:
Carve it out, absolutely. We ran on that — we ran on killing the filibuster, and now we love it. Carve it out so we can move on. I support it because it makes it more difficult to shut the gover
