On Thursday, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was sworn in as the first Democratic member of the Senate. Meet Pete HegsethDonald Trump’s controversial selection to head the Pentagon. Oddly enough, Fetterman not excluded Support your mother Hegseth I once wrote him an angry email. Calling him a woman abuser. (She says now she doesn’t have the same idea of her son. )
“Theoretically he could be the Secretary of Defense,” Fetterman told Politico in explaining his logic. “While I was in Washington, D.C., I realized it was important. And I was like, ‘Are you talking to someone?’ I don’t know why that’s shocking.” ”
Fetterman also said:some” Allegations against Hegseth. Those reportedly include, but are not limited to, Hegseth. rape a woman 2017—Hegseth He said the sex was consensual.— and perhaps drink alcohol at work. But that didn’t stop the Pennsylvania senator from being open. join the republican party Confirmed Fox News host.
Fetterman said he doesn’t know why that would be the case.controversial” and even suggested that he met with Hegseth and that the two might find common ground on some issues. And in and of itself, meeting with someone who is likely to be the next Secretary of Defense may not be strange. But this isn’t the only eyebrow-raising move Fetterman has taken recently.
On Wednesday, Fetterman apparently He became the first Democratic senator Join President Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social. And in his debut post, he made a surprising call to pardon Trump in his hush money lawsuit in New York.
Fetterman also said he was “absolutely yes” to confirming Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as the next U.N. ambassador.
Stefanik is not the first member of Trump’s Cabinet to express support for Fetterman. In November he he said he would vote for confirmation Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio will be the next Secretary of State.
once self-proclaimed progressiveFetterman has moved to the right since winning the 2022 Senate race. But this isn’t the first time the senator has made his position clear in support of Trump’s Cabinet decisions. On the go With progressive movements. he is one of many democrats Strict pro-Israel statement During the ongoing war in Gaza. Among them he found a friend Democrats include New York State Representative Ritchie Torres.
But Fetterman has not abandoned progressivism, arguing that the movement has pushed him out.
“I didn’t leave the label, I stayed with the label,” Fetterman said in an interview. June interview With comedian Bill Maher.
However, looking back at his history with the label, his changes appear to be of a more cynical nature. After all, the senator was willing to accepted label for year He also secured the support of independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. self-proclaimed democratic socialistwhen Fetterman succeeded in escaping. Becomes lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. But now Fetterman seems to be thinking more intently. ridicule progressivism than accept it.
For Fetterman, blaming the left for the shift to the right is a convenient scapegoat. It keeps his name in the spotlight while making him seem like some kind of brave truth-teller who isn’t afraid to stand up to his own party.
But he may find it difficult to work on both sides, especially at a time when the center-left and establishment Democrats are at odds. exposed to gunfire for frequently lose elections and major policy battles.
At least for now, Mr. Fetterman has not made clear what his ultimate goal is in fighting his party’s interests. But in the short term, independent Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema appear to be filling the void left by the incumbent non-Republican mob agitators. I’m leaving.
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