Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said he will not switch his party affiliation and become a Republican, though he said he may not side with fellow Democrats on every issue and sees himself as an independent voice in politics.
Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo asked Fetterman on a Sept. 28 episode of “Sunday Morning Futures” whether, in light of “real extremists who have tried to hijack the Democrat Party,” he would consider switching parties.
“No, I’m not going to switch,” Fetterman replied. “But I’m just going to be an independent voice in the Democratic Party.”
“If you want a Democrat that’s going to call people Nazis or fascists or all these kinds of things … I’m not going to be that guy,” he said, adding that his focus is on aligning with “the truth, regardless if it’s the Republican or the Democratic voice.”
With a reputation for bucking party lines, Fetterman has become a tempting target for Republicans hoping to flip him and grow their Senate majority to 54 seats.
In 2022, Fetterman defeated Republican Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, flipping a seat that for Democrats was key to the party holding its majority in the upper chamber—before losing it in 2024.
Fetterman ran on a progressive platform in 2022, including a call to legalize marijuana and strengthen union rights. But as a senator, he has made a rightward shift on some issues, including chastizing fellow Democrats for their anti-Trump resistance.
President Donald Trump praised Fetterman’s remarks during a meeting at the White House on July 9.
“The new John Fetterman is exactly what you said. He’s right. He’s right. We have to protect our police officers, and we have been,” Trump said.
Fetterman, speaking later to the Daily Mail, said he wasn’t seeking the president’s approval, but added that the comment probably made his Republican-leaning parents proud.
The Pennsylvania Democrat has faced criticism within his own party for his strong support for Israel during its war against Hamas. Some progressives have opposed Israel’s military actions because of the large death toll in the Gaza Strip.
In his Sept. 28 interview on Fox News, Fetterman defended his pro-Israel stance, saying that U.S. pressure to halt operations would have spared Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon and Syria, as well as Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar.
“Now it’s endgame,” he said. “And this war does have to end, and that’s why [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s been forced to do this and go into Gaza City. That’s why I’m going to follow Israel, just as I’ve done for now going on two years.”
In the interview, Fetterman also expressed strong opposition to a government shutdown, which comes as some Democrats have threatened to vote against a stopgap bill this week that would keep the government funded beyond a looming deadline, as they push for a funding package that extends soon-to-expire health insurance subsidies.
“It is always, always wrong to shut our government down,” Fetterman said. “That is a core responsibility. I’m always going to vote against those things, and if it’s the Republican side or now it’s our side, I’m going to condemn it.”
If the government funding legislation isn’t passed by Congress and signed by Trump on the night of Sept. 30, many government offices across the nation will be temporarily shuttered, and nonexempt federal employees will be furloughed.
