WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014\u00a0In a Congress known for bitter partisan divides, one bipartisan duo is proving that politics\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0always have to be ugly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two senators- different parties,\u00a0different backgrounds, different looks \u2014 but with the same goal, for the same state.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one thing I think that absolutely unites us is that we want to do a good job for Pennsylvania,\u201d said Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa. \u201cPennsylvania picked both of us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Republican Dave McCormick is a former Army officer and a polished former hedge fund CEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf central casting called saying, \u2018Senator,\u2019 it looks more like him,\u201d said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Democrat John Fetterman \u2014 a 6-foot-8 senator with tattoos,\u00a0likely sporting\u00a0a Carhartt hoodie with shorts \u2014 has built a career in public service by fighting for unions, marijuana\u00a0legalization, LGBTQ+ rights and criminal justice reform.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two lawmakers \u2014 on different sides, with different priorities \u2014 however, in today\u2019s divisive political landscape, they refrain from personal attacks or\u00a0name-calling\u2026 for the most part.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI call him names. You know, I call him\u00a0friend\u00a0\u2014 you know \u2014 and a great guy,\u201d said Fetterman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aside from sharing occasional jokes and lighthearted teasing, the two senators share trust and mutual respect for one another.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other thing that unites us\u00a0is\u00a0I have complete trust in him,\u201d said McCormick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLikewise,\u201d Fetterman added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to do what\u2019s right for Pennsylvania.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no games, and\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0rare, unfortunately, across parties or in parties,\u201d McCormick said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a great thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fetterman said their different backgrounds, policies and appearances, actually reflect\u00a0the state they\u00a0represent\u00a0\u2014 a politically diverse battleground where voters routinely split between parties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is part of how unique Pennsylvania is,\u201d said Fetterman. \u201cI think we\u00a0want to be an example of Pennsylvania. We all have people in our families that have different political views.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0not terrible people.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0not trying to destroy democracy. We all find ways to get along.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The gym shorts and pinstripes duo represent one of the few states in the country\u00a0split\u00a0between parties in the Senate.\u00a0They\u2019ve\u00a0built a bipartisan bond for the Keystone State \u2014 one that began after McCormick\u2019s 2024 election victory \u2014 not long after Fetterman suffered a stroke in 2022 and was later hospitalized in 2023 for clinical depression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I went to see him, he said, \u2018Listen, I\u2019ve\u00a0had a near-death experience. I have no time for\u00a0the nonsense. I just want to get things done for Pennsylvania.\u2019 I said, man that sounds great,\u201d said McCormick. \u201cSo\u00a0we\u2019ve developed a relationship which I think is all about where we can find agreement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That agreement has led to collaboration on issues like drug trafficking, first-time homebuyer\u00a0assistance\u00a0and securing federal dollars for Pennsylvania projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two have also developed a close personal friendship, often calling or texting outside of work and booking several joint-media appearances. McCormick has also come to Fetterman\u2019s defense when facing questions over his fitness to serve \u2014 and when Fetterman has crossed party lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania Democrat\u00a0has sided with Republicans several times, including multiple votes to end recent government shutdowns and even support some of the president\u2019s Cabinet picks.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0also been vocal in expressing staunch support for Israel and backing many of the administration\u2019s actions against Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI would rather have people know exactly what I believe,\u201d Fetterman said. \u201cI think there\u2019s things that are true and things that aren\u2019t,\u201d said Fetterman. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m going to just put that\u00a0out\u00a0so they\u2019ll know exactly how I stand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although Fetterman is not shy when criticizing his party, the majority of his votes in the Senate are along party lines. McCormick regularly votes to support the Republican agenda. Still, there\u2019s\u00a0more that unites than divides the unlikely duo, and\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0not afraid to let the world know.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people are disappointed, that we should fight or hate each other, well, then you\u2019re going to be disappointed, because the best thing for Pennsylvania is to find a way to work together,\u201d said Fetterman.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014\u00a0In a Congress known for bitter partisan divides, one bipartisan duo is proving that politics\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0always have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2288,28,30,29,2287,2286,2289],"class_list":["post-137826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-bureau","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-u-s-capitol","tag-washington-d-c","tag-washington-d-c-bureau"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}