Sen. John Fetterman is firing back at ex-staffers who say he’s checked out on the job, branding them “disgruntled” leakers spreading “smears” after a Wall Street Journal piece detailed his alleged indifference to key duties. The anonymous former aides, now running an account on X, accuse the Pennsylvania Democrat of skipping constituent meetings, blowing off a funeral for three slain officers, and ducking an appointment with paralyzed veterans before appearing on Fox News.
Fetterman insists he’s continuing “to deliver for Pennsylvania.” In a statement to CNN, he responded to a text he wrote claiming he wasn’t worried about Medicaid cuts affecting a children’s hospital as a “dumb joke” and claimed other leaked texts were stripped of context. He detailed private condolences and meetings with the families of the fallen officers. He also claimed he’d been “throwing up” before the planned meeting with veterans, but felt better “hours later” in time for the Fox interview.
Republican Sen. Dave McCormick has publicly backed Fetterman, blasting the leaks as an effort by the left to “cancel” him. Fellow Pennsylvania Democrats, Reps. Chris Deluzio and Brendan Boyle, meanwhile, have labeled Fetterman as lazy and a “disgrace,” respectively, per CBS News.