U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., stated he has no current plans to exit the Democratic Party, but declared he would feel compelled to do so if the party officially withdrew its support for Israel.
“If our party ever becomes — and just makes it official — the anti-Israel party, that’s when I would leave because that’s been a moral clarity for me,” Fetterman said Wednesday during an interview at the Hill Nation Summit in Washington, D.C.
Fetterman voiced significant concerns that pressure from progressive voters is driving some party members to turn their backs on Israel. As an example, he pointed to House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., supporting an amendment to halt $3.3 billion in annual security assistance to Israel. Though the amendment failed, Fetterman asserted her vote reflects a broader trend.
“You look at the kinds of individuals that are winning our recent primaries,” Fetterman said. “It’s becoming more anti-, anti-Israel and hostile to people” who support Israel. He added that while Republicans have approached him about switching sides, those remain “private conversations.”
The Pennsylvania senator highlighted several progressive primary victories that concern him, including Abdul El-Sayed’s strong polling in Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary. Fetterman warned that an El-Sayed nomination would force Democrats to spend millions more in a critical battleground state.
“Rogers just barely, barely lost in ’24,” Fetterman said, referencing former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers’ narrow defeat to Sen. Elissa Slotkin in the 2024 Michigan Senate race. “If El-Sayed wins, then that puts Michigan much more in play for us and would require us to spend more money.”
Fetterman also criticized El-Sayed and New York primary winner Darializa Avila Chevalier for supporting the “defund the police” movement, questioning whether the party learned from its 2024 presidential loss. “We forgot the crazy things that we said and that cost us the election in 2024. Now we want to revisit that,” Fetterman said.
Additionally, Fetterman targeted Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., for his strong backing of Graham Platner in the Maine U.S. Senate race, criticizing Sanders’ reluctance to quickly rescind his endorsement before Platner ultimately dropped out over sexual assault allegations.
“Why did you push these people?” Fetterman asked. “Why did you buy in and then plunge that most consequential Senate race now into chaos?” Fetterman concluded that the situation has made it much more difficult for Democrats to defeat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins and maintain control of the Senate.
READ: Rep. Greg Steube Intros Impeachment Articles Against Florida Judge Who Released Hijacker
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