Sen. John Fetterman is walking his own path in the Senate and ruffling some feathers along the way.
By Beth Brelje
Financial backing from progressive Democrats helped John Fetterman flip a long-held Republican U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania in 2022.
During his first two years as a senator, Mr. Fetterman has often surprised progressives and conservatives alike with his outspoken positions that have challenged party dogma.
Mr. Fetterman has voted against his party five times. He was the only Democrat to vote no on the confirmation of Monica Bertagnolli to direct the National Institutes of Health.
He was one of four Democrats who voted no to increase the debt ceiling.
And he agreed with Republicans on a resolution to disapprove of a rule written by the Department of Commerce relating to President Joe Biden’s June 2022 emergency and authorization for temporary extensions of time and duty-free importation of solar cells and modules from southeast Asia.
The guy on the Senate floor in the Carhartt hoodie is still very much a Democrat: pro-abortion, pro-recreational marijuana, pro-criminal justice reform, and a strong supporter of unions.
At the U.S. Capitol, Mr. Fetterman told The Epoch Times that he has not changed positions, but things are happening that highlight them—most notably, his support for Israel and acknowledging the problem of illegal crossings at the southern border.
“Sometimes people may have the wrong impressions, whether from the commercials and all that stuff,“ Mr. Fetterman said. ”I’ve always really had those kinds of positions, so it’s not like a shock. So, nothing’s changed, perhaps maybe the perception.”
He also said he’s never been a progressive. He described himself as a regular Democrat who has made the case that Democrats come with a variety of views.
G. Terry Madonna, senior fellow in residence for political affairs at Millersville University, has watched Mr. Fetterman’s political career from the beginning and said it is not uncommon for politicians to change their views.
“He’s not a typical liberal Democrat, which most of us thought he was during the course of his campaign, and the fact of the matter is, he’s evolving,” Mr. Madonna told The Epoch Times.
But he’s not turning into a conservative. “I’ve not seen any evidence, except for those two issues, that he’s moved away from the liberal mantra, but there have been growing questions about him because of these two big issues that he’s come out with [views] very different from liberal Democrats,” Mr. Madonna said.
Mayor of Braddock
Mr. Fetterman has often been undaunted by public opinion and sometimes the rules.
He was the first Pennsylvania mayor to perform a same sex marriage in 2013, despite that a state law prohibited it.
