The Left is dealing with more infighting. They may never fully recover from it.
And a Democrat Senator has taken a blowtorch to their own party with this scathing critique.
Fetterman’s Fury: Democrat Senator Blasts His Own Party Over Shutdown Chaos
In a stunning display of internal Democratic discord, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman is calling out his fellow party members for their role in the ongoing government shutdown. Known for his no-nonsense style, Fetterman isn’t holding back, accusing Democrats of betraying the very people they claim to champion by letting essential programs like food stamps grind to a halt.
Fetterman, who often sports a casual hoodie in the halls of power, laid into the shutdown during a heated appearance on CNN’s State of the Union. He highlighted the human cost, pointing out how millions of everyday Americans are getting squeezed in this political mess.
“For me, fundamentally, it’s deeply, deeply distressing to know that 42 million Americans are going to lose their SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits,” Fetterman said.
The senator made it clear he’s drawing a line in the sand against his own side. “That’s one of the big reasons why I refuse to shut our government down,” he continued. “I feel like the Democrats really need to own the shutdown. I mean, we’re shutting it down.”
This isn’t just talk—Fetterman put his vote where his mouth is. He’s one of just three senators caucusing with Democrats who bucked the party line by opposing efforts to block a straightforward stopgap bill that would get the government back up and running. Joining him were Nevada’s Catherine Cortez Masto and Maine’s independent Angus King.
Fetterman’s been vocal from the start, emerging as a top critic within Democratic ranks. He even urged Republicans to go all-in and deploy the “nuclear option” to smash through the filibuster’s 60-vote barrier, showing his frustration with the gridlock.
At the heart of the standoff, Democrats are digging in their heels, using the shutdown as leverage to force Republicans into giving ground on expanding Medicaid and boosting those temporary Obamacare handouts that pump up subsidies for health insurance.
But the tactics backfired big time when SNAP funding dried up over the weekend. A judge stepped in, forcing the Agriculture Department to dip into emergency reserves to keep the program limping along for a bit longer, buying precious time for hungry families.
Meanwhile, President Trump isn’t sitting idle. He revealed he’s got his lawyers digging into the legal options amid dueling court decisions, aiming to cut through the confusion and find a path to restore stability.
Fetterman’s criticism hits close to home for him personally. His wife operates a community free store that hands out food to those in need, so he’s seeing the shutdown’s fallout right in his own backyard, fueling his outrage.
“This is an absolute fail,” Fetterman continued. “It’s embarrassing, honestly, if we can’t even kind of get — keep the lights on like this, and now reminding everybody federal workers have had to borrow more than a third of a billion dollars just to pay their own bills.”
The ripple effects are pounding working families hardest. Beyond SNAP, programs like WIC for moms and kids, plus Head Start for early education, are teetering on the edge, leaving vulnerable folks in the lurch.
“Now people can’t count on their SNAP benefits, and now also WIC [Women, Infants & Children] and Head Start. These are the kinds of people why I’m a Democrat, fighting for people just like that,” Fetterman stated. “It seems like we’re moving against our core values to keep our government shut down.”
Even as Fetterman backs the Democratic push to lock in those beefed-up Obamacare subsidies before they vanish at year’s end, he’s slamming the shutdown strategy as a dead-end that achieves zilch.
“Right now, by doing this, our government shutdown, we’re getting neither of those things, and they guarantee neither,” the senator said. “You’re going to get your SNAP benefits, and you’re not going to get those kinds of tax credits that we all need.”
Fetterman’s message boils down to common sense: “Reopen this thing, and we can find a way forward. That’s the way democracy operates for right now.”
His call for pragmatism stands out in a Washington swamp drowning in partisan games, reminding Americans that real leadership means putting people over politics.
