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Chuck Schumer showered John Fetterman with praise this week, declaring him a “very good member,” liked and respected by colleagues in Democrats’ “big tent party.”
Fetterman was grateful for the shoutout and has repeatedly shot down the idea he’d switch caucuses in the Senate. But he’s still not sure he fits with where his party is going.
‘“I truly appreciate the leader’s nice words,” Fetterman told Semafor on Thursday. He added that “I don’t know if the Democratic Party is ‘big tent’ enough for proud, pro-Israel supporters that also strongly reject the warped mutation of” democratic socialists now rising in their ranks.
The Pennsylvania Democrat is confronting tension often these days. He’s tangling with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., over the candidacies of Graham Platner in Maine and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. He supplied the deciding vote Thursday to stifle an effort to rein in President Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
As Fetterman diverges further from his party on US-Israel relations, the Capitol is captivated by speculation about whether he might turn independent, or even switch to a GOP that’s more aligned with him on an issue fracturing the Democratic base. It’s clear that the outcome of the midterms could weigh heavily on Fetterman, no matter what.
Schumer’s comments on Wednesday are no accident; Democrats are making a concerted effort to keep Fetterman comfortable in their caucus, despite the fact he rarely attends its meetings. He reliably votes with Schumer and other Senate Democrats, although he occasionally supports Trump nominees like Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and declined to exercise his veto power against Trump’s pick for a home-state spot on the federal bench.
“Senator Fetterman’s a Democrat. He’s not leaving the party. Listen to his words. He’s been abundantly clear,” said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M. “When you look at John’s beliefs and John’s values, and the way that he stands up and fights for folks back home that get bullied and get pushed around, I have no concern that Senator Fetterman would leave the Democratic Party.”
Fetterman met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week and said he’s “proud to remain the conscience of the Democratic Party in Congress,” calling New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani “worthless.” Fetterman said earlier this month he’d leave the party if Democrats took an official “anti-Israel” position.
Even as Fetterman repeatedly says he’d be a “bad” Republican due to his views on everything from abortion to labor unions, his colleagues are bracing for the GOP to step up its recruitment efforts, potentially after the election. In theory, Fetterman could swing control of the Senate if it’s closely divided after the midterms.
“I don’t know if they’re going to be able to attract him away. I think they’re going to try, no matter what. But I think Fetterman’s politics are more in line with Democrats, and I think we want him to stay in this caucus,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. “If we say we’re a big tent party, that means we accept everyone.”
Clearly, Fetterman has Democratic allies. But he’s also close with several Republicans, including Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama and Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania. Fetterman and McCormick even launched a joint fundraising committee, practically unheard-of for senators from different parties.
“I sympathize with John, who has been watching his party go crazy with anti-military, anti-police, anti-capitalism, antisemitic candidates. I respect him for calling it out. He will have to decide what he will do in the future,” McCormick told Semafor.
“In the meantime, when there’s an opportunity to deliver for Pennsylvania, we’ll work together. That’s what the people who elected us expect.”
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Fetterman and Sanders campaigned together ahead of the Pennsylvanian’s decisive victory in the 2022 Senate campaign, where Fetterman ran as a progressive on several issues, but it’s reasonable to wonder whether there’s room in the caucus for both of them. Just this week, Fetterman told Sanders to sit out some Senate races; Sanders shot back on CNN that he’s “not going to take your advice.”
Fetterman offered Semafor a blunt reply to Sanders: “You were the carnival barker for an accused rapist. You should have taken my advice, since you and P-Hustle blew up the Maine race.”
He added a broadside at El-Sayed, directed at Sandwrs: “Take responsibility and apologize. After you just blasted the Maine race apart, you are in Michigan replicating it.”
Sanders declined to comment on Fetterman’s remarks, saying he didn’t “want to speculate” on whether the Democratic Party needs to accrue more than 51 Senate seats as insurance against Fetterman defecting.
Perhaps one positive sign that Fetterman cares about staying a Democrat is his interest in the party’s primaries. He said that nominating El-Sayed “puts that seat in play while warming Hamas’ hearts.” El-Sayed is running against Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in a pivotal Senate primary next week.
A spokeswoman for El-Sayed did not comment.
Room for Disagreement
Republicans would welcome Fetterman into their ranks, though he’d certainly be the most liberal member of the party if he ever made that long-shot switch. Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said that “in the long run, it’s probably better for the country that Fetterman tries to bring some common sense to his party.”
“The prospects of him becoming a Republican are near zero. I think the prospects of him becoming an independent are probably better. But you know what? I think the best thing he can do for the country is stay a Democrat and try to remind a large portion of the Democratic Party that what he’s standing for most of the time are not partisan issues,” Sheehy said. “America needs two healthy parties.”
Burgess’s view
I don’t think Fetterman is preparing to switch parties, which would require a complete ideological makeover on most of his beliefs to comport with the GOP. He doesn’t behave like Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who came into Congress as a Democrat, shifted to the GOP, and surprisingly continued to win elections.
But I don’t think he’s comfortable in the Democratic Caucus, either. If El-Sayed wins the Michigan primary, it’s only going to get more awkward.
Fetterman’s long-term future is much harder to predict. His seat is up in 2028, and he’d struggle to win either a GOP or Democratic primary. He may not care: It’s clear that what’s important to him is countering senators like Sanders in the present — slowing his party’s drift away from unconditional support for Israel — rather than positioning himself for the future.