John Fetterman doesn’t always toe the Democrat Party line.
He’s taking a different approach than his Senate colleagues to the new administration.
And John Fetterman revealed something about Pete Hegseth that sent Democrats into a frenzy.
John Fetterman could vote to confirm Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel
Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth has been facing an onslaught of bogus attacks to pressure him to drop out.
Hegseth has been meeting with Senators on Capitol Hill to shore up support.
U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) became the first Democrat to meet with him.
The 53-47 Republican majority next year means that Hegseth can afford to lose three Republican Senators to be confirmed.
It was assumed that every Democrat was going to be an automatic no against him.
Fetterman surprised everyone by saying he would consider voting for Hegseth during an appearance on ABC’s This Week.
Host Johnathan Karl asked him if he thought that Hegseth was qualified to serve as Defense Secretary.
“We’re going to learn more. And that, that hearing, and there’s going to be an FBI background and that,” Fetterman said. “But you know, my commitment, and I think I’m doing the job, is I’m going to sit down and have a conversation. And the President picked these people. Not going to be my first choice, second choice, third choice, but that’s democracy.”
He warned that Democrats couldn’t ignore someone who could potentially be the Defense Secretary.
Karl asked him if he could see himself supporting Hegseth and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel.
“Potentially,” Fetterman stated. “But there is going to be some that I will vote yes, and there’s some maybe that I’ll vote no. But nobody can accuse me of just saying I had a closed mind, or I just said no because Trump picked this person, or whatever.”
Fetterman admits he learned new things from Kash Patel meeting
The Pennsylvania lawmaker admitted that he came away from his meeting with Patel liking him more than he would have thought.
“I have learned things and I have heard things, and I have no regrets for having these,” Fetterman said. “I never left any of those interviews saying, well, that was a waste of time, or I regret that.”
Fetterman said that he was reassured that Patel wouldn’t weaponize the FBI against Trump’s enemies office which Democrats have been fearmongering about.
He blamed Vice President Kamala Harris for losing the election and his home state of Pennsylvania on Trump’s political talent.
“I mean, that’s a political talent, it’s undeniable,” Fetterman said. “And also, I never believed that it was about fascism. And for me, that made it difficult.”
He dismissed Kamala’s failed attempt to paint Trump as a fascist during the campaign.
“It’s not a word that I would use,” Fetterman explained. “Because you put a lot of Democrats, especially in my state, that I know, and I happen to love people that are going to vote for Trump, and they are not fascists.”
Fetterman pointed out that Kamala ignored the kitchen table issues facing voters.
“Also fascism, that’s not a word that regular people, you know, use, you know?” Fetterman asked. “I think people are going to decide who is the candidate that’s going to protect and project, you know, my version of the American way of life, and that’s what happened.”
John Fetterman knows he’s representing a battleground state so he’s making an effort to appear bipartisan to voters.