Fetterman Blames Democrats for ‘Absolute Fail’ Shutdown
“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.”
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… pic.twitter.com/Ib8Qe4NWCT
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) November 2, 2025
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.”
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My takeaways has been, we don’t really need most of what the federal government is doing, so we can cut shedloads of spending.
Don’t drop a CR, drop a budget that is less than half of 2019 spending.
Fetterman repeats the lie that democrats are for the “working” people.
They are trying to fund their new illegal immigrant voter-slave market.
CalMatters
@CalMatters
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Jun 25
Lawmakers are weighing a provision that would allow developers to pay a lower wage for some construction projects, theoretically stimulating housing production in California.
To be fair the exact words are …
“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.”
“If we are supposed to be then we need to act like it”
The Marquess of Queensberry rules. Pfui!
Democrat talking points are straight up saying that they’re for the working class; it goes far beyond Fetterman on a Sunday TV show- those talking points are spammed all over twitter right now. Newsom is yapping about it. And Fetterman backs off from directly claiming it? And now we have to be fair? As we get our nuts kicked in?
Then politicians (Fetterman) and democrat party apparatchiks go on to talk directly about unionized workers – as if UAW or the local heavy equipment operators “workers” qualify for SNAP or whatever food stamp program?
And what about non-unionized workers? The tens of thousands of freebooting workers mowing lawns and blowing leaves? Those self-employed legal workers have zero political clout.
Don’t you get it? They’re playing blue collar workers. For the millionth time.
Senator Fetterman (D, Carhartt) is absolutely correct.
It’s a strong indictment of the Democrat Party that it takes a sweatshirt-wearing stroke survivor to speak the truth.
More’s the pity that his colleagues either can’t see that or don’t care.
In that screenshot Tapper manages to look both disappointed with and disapproving of Fetterman. Or is that just his attempt at a serious face?
Tapper has always suffered from Resting Indigestion Face.
Core “values” of the left is moreeeee government …so he is correct b/c of THAT!
How long has the gov been shut down? I barely notice.
So far, TSA, Air Traffic Control, Border Patrol, ICE are the only ones I am remotely concerned about.
Nobody is missing the FBI, CIA, Treasury (IRS). That shows how little most of the federal government does for people paying taxes.
If a black man blames black men for the crime in Chicago, he would be right in pointing that out and would no doubt try to do something about it. He will always be black but he should do what he can to help black people.
But if a klansman belongs to the KKK and disagrees with their policies, he would be a fool to remain in the KKK. Likewise, if a Democrat blames the entire Democrat party for their stupidity, which by the way is unfixable, why remain a Democrat?
children
access to the children is always easier as a dem
Where would he go? The entire system is crafted for two parties and two parties only. He’s not a republican. The best he could do is announce he’s an independent, but he would still caucus with the democrats because that’s what is required by the system.
As we watch Schumer post videos of LYING propaganda on social media after voting “no” on the CLEAN CR, how much damage to the Republic will you tolerate before acting????
Use RICO to permanently abolish the Democrat Crime cabal
Seize EVERY asset, especially the Marxist propaganda press
No other criminal enterprise would be left intact. MAGA and “Republicans”
GROW A SET Democrats conspired with hostile foreign regimes to not only import as many CRIMINAL MIGRANTS AS POSSIBLE during the Kenyan’s 3rd term, they conspired to EMPTY PRISONS AND MENTAL INSTITUTIONS and FLY THOSE PEOPLE HERE in midnight flight sponsored by our traitors in the deep state. Destinations included HPN (Westchester NY)
It would be HARD to conceal the amount of evidence associated with that
It’s unlikely the Democrat crime cabal could have disappeared the mountains of evidence associated with this facet of the Democrat crime cabal.
This is the type of thing that DIRECTLY led to the rape/murder of Jocelyn Nungary, a 12 year old Texas girl, and countless others.
FROM GROK: RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) can apply to immigration crimes if they’re part of a pattern of racketeering activity conducted by an organized enterprise.
RICO targets ongoing criminal enterprises engaging in specific predicate offenses, like fraud, extortion, or trafficking. Some immigration-related crimes, such as visa fraud, human smuggling, or document trafficking, could qualify as predicate offenses if they meet RICO’s criteria: a structured group, repeated illegal acts over time, and an impact on interstate or foreign commerce. For example, a criminal organization systematically smuggling migrants or forging immigration documents for profit could face RICO charges.
However, standalone immigration violations, like illegal entry without an organized scheme, typically wouldn’t trigger RICO. Prosecutors must prove the enterprise’s structure and a pattern (at least two predicate acts within 10 years). Penalties include up to 20 years per racketeering count, fines, and asset forfeiture.
42 million
Americans42 million PEOPLE. Get it right, until & unless it can be proven that all SNAP recipients are indeed citizens.
He is right!