Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) broke sharply with his own party this weekend, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper that Democrats are responsible for the ongoing government shutdown and the hardship it’s causing for working Americans.
Sen. John Fetterman breaks ranks with his party, telling CNN the Democrats are responsible for the government shutdown and its fallout.“I feel like the Democrats really need to own the shutdown.”“It’s deeply deeply distressing to know that 42 million Americans are going to lose their SNAP benefits. And now that’s one of the big reasons why I refuse to shutting our government down.”
Note: What follows includes the full, cleaned transcript from Fetterman’s State of the Union interview. You can watch the CNN segment here.
Jake Tapper: Senator, bipartisan talks to end the government shutdown seem to be gaining steam, though an actual agreement still looks out of reach. We’re now on day 33 of the shutdown. Do you know where things stand in those talks to reopen the government?John Fetterman: “Democrats really need to own the shutdown. I mean, we’re shutting it down. I know why they claim they’re doing it — because they want to address the tax credits — and I fully support that. I’ve voted for all of their continuing resolutions, every single time.But I refuse to put 42 million Americans into food insecurity. This whole thing can be solved just by reopening our government so people can get paid again.If we are the party that’s supposed to be fighting for working people, then we have to act like it. Every single union involved in this has been demanding that we reopen. That’s the side I’m on.And now even the airlines are saying we really have to stop this right now. Why would we want to make flying less safe by forcing this kind of situation and adding so much stress on everyone involved?This is not something I support, and I don’t want to be a part of it. We need to find a way forward, and I do believe we can achieve these kinds of tax credits without holding the government hostage.”Jake Tapper: “You’ve said before it was wrong when Republicans did it. Do you think it’s wrong now that Democrats are driving this?”John Fetterman: “Yes, absolutely. It was wrong then, and it’s wrong now. This is an absolute fail. It’s embarrassing, honestly.If we can’t even keep the lights on, that’s a failure of leadership — plain and simple. Right now, federal workers have had to borrow more than a third of a billion dollars just to pay their own bills. Those are the workers who keep this country running, and they’re suffering.And now people can’t count on their SNAP benefits. They can’t rely on WIC or Head Start programs. These are the people I got into politics to fight for — working families and the most vulnerable.So when we keep the government shut down this long, we’re moving against our core values as Democrats. That’s why I voted against it. We can fight for tax credits, we can fight for working families — but not like this. This approach is wrong. We have to reopen the government and get people back to work.”
Fetterman’s comments mark one of the strongest public rebukes yet from within his own party. While Democratic leaders continue to frame the shutdown as a Republican obstruction, Fetterman’s blunt admission that “Democrats really need to own the shutdown” underscores a growing rift, and his frustration with what he calls “an absolute fail.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY