U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) described President Donald Trump’s reported bid to receive $230 million from his own Department of Justice as “small ball” on Wednesday.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Trump is said to be seeking $230 million from the Justice Department in compensation for the federal investigations into him. Trump claimed to reporters that he would make the decision on any payout from the government because it will “have to go across my desk.”
While Trump received widespread backlash from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, Fetterman suggested Trump’s demand was a distraction from “bigger problems” during a Wednesday interview with CNN’s John Berman.
“I hope that’s not true for that kinds of money,” he said. “That’s small ball, and I think we have much bigger problems than worrying about those things. I hope it’s not true.”
He reiterated that he would not support a payment to Trump, noting that the money should go to supporting people’s health insurance.
“And of course, you know the $230 million should go to paying people’s health insurance or other things. That’s not a priority I would ever support for those kinds of payments,” he added.
A handful of pundits criticized Fetterman for his response to the report. Fetterman has also faced backlash in recent weeks for bucking his party and voting for the GOP spending bill that could reopen the government.
“Fetterman is so damn disappointing. Refuses to acknowledge the corrupt, cruel, lawless threat that Trump is. It’s almost like he cut some private deal with Trump,” former Rep. Joe Walsh wrote on X.
Republican lawmakers also responded to the report on Wednesday. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters he did not know the full details of the request.
“I don’t know the details about that. I just read it. I didn’t talk with him about that. I know he believes he’s owed that reimbursement. What I heard yesterday is that if receives it, he’s gonna consider giving it to charity. He doesn’t need those proceeds,” Johnson said.
CNN’s Manu Raju reported that Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) jabbed Trump over the report.
“It’s terrible optics, particularly right now. We’re talking about a quarter of a billion dollars transferring, maybe to the President when we’re in a shutdown posture,” Tillis told Raju.
Trump said Tuesday he did not know the dollar figures involved and suggested he had not spoken to officials about it. But, he added, “All I know is that, they would owe me a lot of money.”
Though the Justice Department has a protocol for reviewing such claims, Trump asserted, “It’s interesting, ‘cause I’m the one that makes the decision, right?”
“That decision would have to go across my desk,” he added.
He said he could donate any taxpayer money or use it to help pay for a ballroom he’s building at the White House.
The status of the claims and any negotiations over them within the Justice Department was not immediately clear. One of Trump’s lead defense lawyers in the Mar-a-Lago investigation, Todd Blanche, is now the deputy attorney general at the Justice Department. The current associate attorney general, Stanley Woodward, represented Trump’s valet and co-defendant, Walt Nauta, in the same case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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