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Tag: John Fetterman

  • Fetterman slams Democrats’ ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ voter ID rhetoric as party unity fractures

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    Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is continuing his streak of breaking with his party — this time on voter ID legislation gaining momentum in the Senate.

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats have near-unanimously rejected the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, election integrity legislation that made its way through the House earlier this week.

    Schumer has dubbed the legislation “Jim Crow 2.0,” arguing it would suppress voters rather than encourage more secure elections.

    COLLINS BOOSTS REPUBLICAN VOTER ID EFFORT, BUT WON’T SCRAP FILIBUSTER

     Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to a reporter as he arrives in the U.S. Capitol for a vote on Wednesday, December 3, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

    But Fetterman, who has repeatedly rejected his party’s messaging and positions, pushed back on Schumer’s framing of the bill.

    “I would never refer to the SAVE Act as like Jim Crow 2.0 or some kind of mass conspiracy,” Fetterman told Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany on “Saturday in America.”

    “But that’s part of the debate that we were having here in the Senate right now,” he continued. “And I don’t call people names or imply that it’s something gross about the terrible history of Jim Crow.”

    The bill would require voters to present photo identification before casting ballots, require proof of citizenship in person when registering to vote and mandate states remove non-citizens from voter rolls.

    MURKOWSKI BREAKS WITH GOP ON VOTER ID, SAYS PUSH ‘IS NOT HOW WE BUILD TRUST’

    Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in the Senate subway

    Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced her support for the SAVE America Act, but won’t go as far as to nuke the Senate filibuster.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

    Momentum is building among Republicans. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, became the 50th member of the conference to back the legislation. But Senate Democrats have all but guaranteed its demise in the upper chamber, via the filibuster.

    Fetterman would not say whether he supports the bill outright. However, he noted that “84% of Americans have no problem with presenting IDs to vote.”

    “So it’s not like a radical idea,” Fetterman said. “It’s not something — and there already are many states that show basic IDs. So that’s where we are in the Senate.”

    HARDLINE CONSERVATIVES DOUBLE DOWN TO SAVE THE SAVE ACT

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats are ready to buck the SAVE Act.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty)

    Even if Fetterman were to support the bill on the floor, it is unlikely to pass without more significant procedural changes.

    There are currently not enough votes to overcome the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold.

    Fetterman is also not keen on eliminating the filibuster — a position shared by most Senate Republicans.

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    He noted that Senate Democrats once favored scrapping the filibuster but now want to preserve it while in the minority in a Republican-controlled government.

    “I campaigned on it, too,” Fetterman said. “I mean we were very wrong about that to nuke the filibuster. And we should really humble ourselves and remind people that we wanted to eliminate it — and now we love it.”

    Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

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  • Fetterman endorses prospect of potential future strikes to derail any Iranian nuclear ambitions

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    Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., declared in a Monday post on X that he would support strikes to scuttle any Iranian nuclear weapons aspirations.

    “Iran can’t ever develop a nuclear weapon,” the senator asserted.

    Earlier this year, the U.S. took military action targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear ambitions — and in his post on Monday, Fetterman noted that he supported that move and would support another attack against the regime in the future.

    “Fully supported the strike earlier this year. Fully support any future strikes to damage or destroy their nuclear ambitions,” Fetterman, an ardent and outspoken supporter of Israel, noted.

    JOHN FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS, SLAMS PARTY’S PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD STANCE AS ‘ABSOLUTE BETRAYAL’

    U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., walks to vote at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 8, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

    President Donald Trump on Monday warned of future action if Iran seeks to rebuild its program.

    NETANYAHU SAYS TRUMP TO BECOME FIRST NON-ISRAELI TO RECEIVE ISRAEL PRIZE

    “Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again. And if they are we’re gonna have to knock ’em down,” he said. “We’ll knock the hell out of ‘em. But hopefully that’s not happening. I heard Iran wants to make a deal. If they want to make a deal that’s much smarter.”

    MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE CRITICIZES TRUMP’S MEETINGS WITH ZELENSKYY, NETANYAHU: ‘CAN WE JUST DO AMERICA?’

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump

    U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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    Trump made the comments while standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when the two leaders met in Florida on Monday.

    Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

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  • Sen. Fetterman posts pic of injured face after fall, reveals he got 20 stitches

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    Democratic Sen. John Fetterman said he is on the road to recovery on Saturday after a stay in the hospital due to a fall near his home in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Nov. 13.

    In a post to X, Fetterman posted a picture of his scarred face and said he received 20 stitches after a ventricular fibrillation flare-up caused him to feel light-headed and fall.

    Fetterman also said he was now back home with his family and “overwhelmed + profoundly grateful for all the well-wishes.”

    Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in 2022, has disclosed that he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and a heart condition called atrial fibrillation.

    Cardiomyopathy can impede blood flow and potentially cause heartbeats so irregular they can be fatal. Atrial fibrillation can cause blood to pool inside a pocket of the heart, allowing clots to form. Clots then can break off, get stuck and cut off blood, causing a stroke.

    Fetterman has said the stroke was atrial fibrillation. He underwent surgery after the stroke to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator to manage the condition.

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    Brendan Brightman, Cherise Lynch and The Associated Press

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  • Fetterman defends his voting record despite pushback from Democrats:

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    Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman defended his voting record and addressed the criticism he’s received from some in his own party for meeting and sometimes voting with President Trump.

    “I vote a 91% Democratic line, and if Democrats have a problem with somebody that votes 91% of the same times as you are, more than nine out of 10 times, then maybe our party has a bigger problem,” he said in an interview that aired Wednesday on “CBS Mornings.”

    Fetterman voted with Republicans over a dozen times to fund the government and end the government shutdown while most Senate Democrats held out. The effort failed 14 times over the past 42 days. During that time, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, also backed the House-passed funding bill.

    The Senate finally passed a bill Monday with support from seven Democrats, including Fetterman, as well as King, and it is now moving toward passage in the House.

    The deal reached in the Senate would extend government funding until Jan. 31, to give Congress more time to pass full appropriations bills. The bill does not extend health care tax credits for Affordable Care Act insurance, which Democrats had been demanding, but does guarantee a vote on the issue. The credits are set to expire at the end of the year, when over 20 million Americans who purchase their own insurance through the ACA will see their premiums spike.

    The agreement also includes three full funding bills that lawmakers have been working on for months. The three bills include funding for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Department of Agriculture and FDA; and operations for the legislative branch. It would also ensure federal workers who were not paid during the shutdown will receive back pay. The bill will also reverse the layoffs that the Trump administration implemented during the government shutdown and prevents any cuts until the end of January. 

    Fetterman said his views are reflected in his vote.

    He suggested Democrats should be “the big tent party that people need,” and he distanced himself from some his colleagues’ rhetoric.

    “I refuse to call people, like whether it’s President Trump or other people, as they’re Nazis or that they’re fascists, or that we’re trying to destroy our country. … I refuse to use that kind of rhetoric and I know that there’s parts of my base that they want that. And there’s some people, my colleagues, that even monetize that kind of outrage right now.”

    Unlike many of his Democratic colleagues, Fetterman voted to confirm some of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet picks, including Attorney General Pam Bondi.

    Nearly one year into the president’s term, Fetterman admitted he’s “incredibly disappointed” with Bondi, but added, “voting for someone does not mean that you agree with them on all of those things.”

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  • The Democratic 8 Also Knifed The Hemp Industry

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    The Democratic 8 Also Knifed The Hemp Industry — siding with prohibitionists to gut veterans’ healthcare and hemp innovation.

    They are the buzz on the internet and politics worlds over their betrayal to their political party, but did you know the Democratic 8 also knifed the hemp industry?  In a dramatic turn of events, 8 Senate Democrats have quietly helped push through a deal both re-criminalizes intoxicating hemp-derived THC products and strips out key medical-marijuana provisions previously cleared both chambers of Congress. The implications for both healthcare and cannabis policy are significant.

    Under the newly negotiated spending package, negotiators agreed to ban “intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products, including Delta-8,” while preserving non-intoxicating CBD and industrial hemp. At the same time, the legislation omits the provisions the House and Senate earlier this year passed to enable physicians at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical marijuana to veterans — language now excluded from this deal.

    RELATED: Study Reveals Stance By Physicians And Public About Cannabis

    From a healthcare standpoint, this is a two‐fold blow. First: healthcare access for veterans. The VA‐doctor recommendation language was seen as a breakthrough for veteran patients who seek alternatives to opioids or other pain management tools. Now it’s gone. Second: the broader THC market. By re-criminalizing intoxicating hemp THC products — despite their existence in a previously lawful grey-zone post-Agricultural Marketing Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”) environment — Congress has signalled certain “hemp-derived” cannabinoids are being pulled back under prohibition.

    Senator Kaine voted to put in a knife in the Hemp industry

    the group of eight Senate Democrats who broke from the caucus to vote in favour of advancing a funding deal to end the government shutdown include:

    • Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.)
    • Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
    • John Fetterman (D-Pa.)
    • Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.)
    • Tim Kaine (D-Va.)
    • Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.)
    • Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) – whose daughter is also running for Congress
    • Angus King (I-Maine, caucuses with Democrats)

    What stands out is the ban on intoxicating hemp THC products came in the same spending package, even though earlier this year the House and Senate had passed language to allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana for veterans. The new deal reverses earlier momentum.

    For advocates of veteran healthcare this is a cold shower in addition to the failed promise to help with healthcare premiums.  It is also a deliberate smack at any real cannabis policy reform. The exclusion of VA-doctor recommendation language means veterans may have to continue navigating patchy state laws and federal prohibitions without help from the federal agency meant to serve them. Meanwhile, hemp business operators say the ban threatens a multibillion‐dollar industry built around hemp-derived cannabinoids.

    RELATED: The Feds Foul Play Around Cannabis

    The timing is also politically striking. By tying these policy reversals to a must-pass government-funding measure, negotiators effectively placed them in the envelope of “budget compromise” rather than standalone reform. This means Democrat 8 can gut healthcare in two separate ways at the same time…with the hemp being a hidden negative for veteran with PTSD, cancer patients and others who the American Medical Association say could benefit.

    On the hemp side, the language undercuts previous regulatory efforts by Democratic senators. In September, eight Senate Democrats had sent a letter urging party leaders not to re-criminalize hemp THC products. But given the opportunity the deal they signed onto does exactly did re-criminalize hemp.  You wonder if their early comments were just for votes and optics.

    The deal pushed by Democratic negotiators didn’t just fail to extend healthcare protection, it actively reversed course on veteran access to medical cannabis and tightened federal restrictions on hemp-derived intoxicants. Whether this will spark further legislative fights, or judicial ones, remains to be seen. What is clear is a policy moment earlier this year looked like progress has now been shunted aside hidden under cover of a budget compromise.

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    Terry Hacienda

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  • Fetterman’s Case for Helping GOP Nuke Filibuster Is Faulty

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    Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    Pennsylvania Democratic senator John Fetterman has notoriously been taking an unorthodox path since Donald Trump reentered the White House. It’s a matter of some dispute as to whether Fetterman’s growing estrangement from his own party has anything to do with his medical and mental-health struggles following a 2022 stroke. Regardless of these concerns, Fetterman’s political situtation is becoming increasingly fraught, particularly for someone once firmly ensconced in the progressive, Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party.

    Fetterman has famously criticized other Democrats for saying mean things about the 47th president. He has split from them on certain confirmation votes (he was, for example, the only Democrat to vote to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general). He has defended ICE against Democratic criticism. And most conspicuously, he has become perhaps one of the Senate’s most hardcore supporters of everything Israel has done in its war with Gaza. Public-opinion polls in Pennsylvania show he is now more popular with Republicans than with Democrats.

    So it wasn’t particularly surprising when Fetterman joined two of the 47 Senate Democrats (Catherine Cortez Masto and Angus King) in voting for the Republican-sponsored stopgap spending bill at the end of September, rejecting the conditions most Democrats placed on cooperating to keep the federal government open. Fetterman is, however, placing himself on an island by agreeing with far-right Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Chip Roy that it’s time to crush the Senate Democratic opposition by “nuking” the filibuster, as The Hill reported:

    Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) told reporters Tuesday that he would support Republicans using the so-called nuclear option to override the Senate filibuster to pass a bill to reopen the government.

    Fetterman said the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is running out of money and people “need to eat” as the government shutdown dragged into its 21st day …

    “This is just bad political theater. Open it up,” he said.

    Asked if he would support Republicans “nuking” the filibuster to let a House-passed funding measure pass the Senate with a simple-majority vote, Fetterman replied affirmatively.

    More specifically, Fetterman appeared to endorse not a total abolition of the filibuster but a “carve-out” to allow a vote to reopen the government to pass the Senate by a simple majority. And he rationalized that position by noting that Democrats had in the past supported their own carve-outs.

    “We ran on that. We ran on killing the filibuster, and now we love it. Carve it out so we can move on. I support it because it makes it more difficult to shut the government down in the future, and that’s where it’s entirely appropriate,” he said. “I don’t want to hear any Democrat clutching their pearls about the filibuster. We all ran on it.”

    The filibuster isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition, and not all carve-outs are alike. Over the years, Congress has carved out a series of exceptions to the right to filibuster Senate votes, notably executive- and judicial-branch confirmations and congressional budget measures (e.g., the huge “budget reconciliation” bills like this year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act). This year, Senate Republicans also implicitly carved out certain budget scoring rules to make it easier to disguise the deficit-swelling nature of the OBBBA. So the question is not, as Fetterman appears to suggest, whether to have filibuster carve-outs: It’s what the carve-out is for and whom it benefits.

    The Democratic carve-out proposal Fetterman is apparently alluding to as something “we ran on” was to exempt voting-rights measures from the filibuster following a series of state voter-suppression measures sponsored by Republican-controlled states and defended by Senate Republicans. Some Democrats (notably Kamala Harris) also backed a carve-out for congressional measures to ensure abortion rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade. In both cases, the proposed carve-outs involved fundamental rights. In the current situation, the right in question is the Senate majority’s power to deny Democrats their one bit of significant leverage over the Trump administration and its congressional allies at a time when Republicans are running the country almost exclusively via executive actions and filibusterproof budget measures (e.g., the OBBBA). The lights really do go out for congressional Democrats if they can’t use this limited power to stand in the way of the Trump 2.0. steamroller.

    Fetterman is obviously within his rights to conclude that the cost the country is paying for the government shutdown is too high and to cross the aisle to help the GOP end it. But there’s nothing hypocritical about Democrats wanting to get rid of the filibuster for one thing and not for another; it’s not and never has been an all-or-nothing matter. So Fetterman should probably omit this argument from his litany of grievances about his party.


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    Ed Kilgore

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  • Fetterman says he knows and loves Trump voters: ‘I’m the only Democrat in my family’

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    Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said that he knows and loves individuals who voted for President Donald Trump, noting that “they are not fascists” or “Nazis.”

    “I’m the only Democrat in my family. I grew up in a conservative part of Pennsylvania,” he noted during a NewsNation Town Hall while wearing a hoodie.

    “I would never compare anybody, anybody to Hitler, and those things,” Fetterman declared.

    FETTERMAN REJECTS ‘NAZI,’ ‘FASCIST’ LABELS FOR OPPONENTS WHILE AFFIRMING PARTY LOYALTY

    Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) walks to vote at the U.S. Capitol on October 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

    Such “extreme rhetoric” will make it “more likely” that there will be “extreme … outcomes and political violence,” he suggested. 

    Pointing to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Fetterman said, “let people grieve, give people the space. I’m not gonna use that terrible thing … to make my argument and try to put out my views. It’s like, my God, you know, he’s a father that had his neck blown out by a bullet.”

    FETTERMAN URGES DEMS TO STOP CALLING TRUMP ‘HITLER’ AND ‘AUTOCRAT’ AFTER KIRK ASSASSINATION

    The senator also pointed to the near-assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania last year.

    “We really gotta turn the temperature down,” he said.

    Trump has floated the prospect of potentially supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, and Fetterman indicated he would strongly support such a move.

    FETTERMAN MARKS RELEASE OF LAST LIVING HOSTAGES: ‘THE NIGHTMARE FINALLY ENDS’

    Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

    Sen. John Fetterman during the sixth installment of The Senate Project moderated by FOX NEWS anchor Shannon Bream at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate on June 2, 2025 in Boston, Mass. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

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    “I enthusiastically support this. President Trump could help end this war and bring peace to Ukraine. Ending two awful wars is what the Nobel Peace Prize was designed for,” the senator noted in a post on X, which also included the Ukrainian and Israeli flag emojis. 

    Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

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  • Local leaders, students react after political activist Charlie Kirk is killed at college in Utah

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    The assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk is bringing condemnation from both sides of the aisle in the Pittsburgh area.

    Kirk was hosting an outdoor event at Utah Valley University when he was shot in the neck. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

    PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Conservative activist Charlie Kirk is shot and killed while speaking at a Utah college

    Several students at Carnegie Mellon University gathered to paint the Fence in tribute to Kirk.

    “When we found out he had passed away…it was a very hard moment for us. We’re all big supporters. My mom called me on the phone and was crying with me,” said Emma Gladstein with College Republicans.

    President of CMU College Republicans Anthony Cacciato said he worries people will not be able to express themselves after an event like this.

    “For anyone expressing their opinions on a college campus to be met with violence is a scary thought,” Cacciato said.

    Politicians from both sides of the aisle sent support for Kirk and his family.

    Senator Dave McCormick released a statement saying:

    Senator John Fetterman released a statement saying:

    Governor Josh Shapiro issued a statement saying:

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  • Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

    Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.; Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark.

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    NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.; Gov. Doug Burgum, R-N.D.

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    CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Gov. Roy Cooper, D-N.C.; Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Jim Himes, D-Conn.

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    CNN’s “State of the Union” — Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

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    “Fox News Sunday” — Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

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  • It’s been more than 100 years since a Pennsylvanian was a major player in national politics

    It’s been more than 100 years since a Pennsylvanian was a major player in national politics

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    “The things that truly last when men and things have passed, They are all in Pennsylvania this morning.” – Rudyard Kipling in “Philadelphia.”

    The failure of Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, to be chosen as Kamala Harris’s running mate reflects the low esteem that Pennsylvania’s political figures are held nationally. Since the nation’s founding, Pennsylvania, once the second largest state in the union, and Philadelphia, once the second largest city, have counted little politically.

    MORE: It’s not hype that Pennsylvania could decide the 2024 presidential election. It’s math.

    Over the years the country’s various political parties, from the Jeffersonians and Federalists to today’s two parties, made few attempts to enlist the city and state’s elites into the heart of national politics. Pennsylvania’s only President, James Buchanan, is regarded as among the nation’s greatest political failures. His inaction during the national crisis over the slavery issue is often credited with helping bring about our Civil War. Since Buchanan, no Pennsylvanian has been a serious candidate for President or Vice President of either major party. 

    The record of the state’s governors and senators is equally unimpressive as far as national prominence is concerned. This despite the fact that for most of the 20th century, Pennsylvania’s electoral vote was second only to New York’s. It was the solidest of Republican bulwarks, voting for the Grand Old Party in every Presidential election from 1900 to 1932 with the exception of Teddy Roosevelt in his Bull Moose campaign of 1912. Franklin D. Roosevelt held the state for his last three terms, but it reverted Republican in 1948 and remained so until John F. Kennedy, building upon a huge majority in Democratic-dominated Philadelphia, carried the state in 1960. In the last eight Presidential elections it only voted Republican once, narrowly for Donald Trump in 2016. 

    Over the last 125 years, only one member of the Keystone State achieved national significance: Boies Penrose, a U.S. senator from 1896 to 1921. Penrose, a 300-pound mammoth of a man, had a legendary appetite. A typical breakfast would consist of a dozen eggs, a half-dozen rolls, and an inch-thick slab of ham washed down in a vat of coffee. His appetite for politics also was equally huge. He effectively ran Pennsylvania politics along with Republican party boss Matt Quay and was a major figure nationally for 30 years. He helped engineer the vice presidency for Theodore Roosevelt in 1900, mostly as a way to spite the Republican party boss, Mark Hanna, whom he personally disliked. He also was one of men responsible for Warren Harding winning the presidency in 1920. No other Pennsylvanian since could boast of similar influence.

    A case could be made that David Lawrence, a long-time Democratic major of Pittsburgh, former governor and respected voice in the Democratic party, helped Kennedy become president. But he was a minor figure compared to Penrose. Hugh Scott, a long-time Republican member of the House and the Senate, was one of the three Republican elders who told Richard Nixon he had to resign the presidency. But like Lawrence, he was a behind-the-scenes operator with no national ambitions.

    The question remains: why has Pennsylvania counted so little nationally? Some historians have argued that Pennsylvania and Philadelphia suffered from an inferiority complex once the state lost influence to New York early in the 19th Century. The nation’s banking center moved from Philadelphia to New York in the 1830s when Andrew Jackson declared war against the Bank of the United States then housed in the city. Financial dominance has remained on Wall Street ever since. The same holds true for Philadelphia’s legal position. The term “Philadelphia lawyer” was once a synonym for honesty and probity and the University of Pennsylvania was once famous for the quality of its graduates. Now Yale and Harvard have long outstripped Penn. The last graduate from Penn’s law school to serve on the Supreme Court was Owen J. Roberts. Famous for casting the vote, “the switch in time that saved nine,” that may have saved the Court from President Roosevelt’s packing plan, Roberts left the Court in 1950. Yale and Havard have dominated the Court since. 

    Pennsylvania’s major contribution to the nation’s economic development, the coal mining industry, Pittsburgh steel mills and the railroads, gave the state a powerful economic position in the nation into the 20th century, but that failed to translate to political power. The Pennsylvania Manufactures Association carefully nurtured the state economically and politically but lacked any interest in national politics. The Pennsylvania Railroad lost power and influence as the New York Central and the Erie Canal gave the Empire state access to the economically expanding Middle West and Great Lakes region.

    Some historians have argued that the state and especially Philadelphia have suffered from an inferiority complex viz a viz as New York became the economic and cultural center but also the sports capital of the nation. For 30 years, Philadelphia matched New York for dominance in the only sport that mattered to the nation, baseball. Christened “White Elephants” by New York Giants Manager John McGraw, Connie Mack’s Athletics won one fewer pennants but two more World Series titles than McGraw’s Giants. But the success of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees combined with the miserable performance of the two Philadelphia teams, the A’s, and Phillies, further reinforced the state and city’s sense of inferiority.

    One of the most interesting and intriguing explanations for both the state’s and its largest city’s sense of inferiority was developed by the historian, R. Digby Baltzell of the University of Pennsylvania, the man who coined the term WASP. Baltzell, an historian as well as sociologist, in a series of books and articles, especially “Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia” argued that Quaker influence with its emphasis on equality and deference was at the core of the state’s reluctance to push itself forward. He contrasted the record of statesmanship beginning with John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, down to the Kennedys compared with the quiet deference of the great Philadelphia families, the Drexels, the Ingersolls and the Biddles.

    With Shapiro’s rejection for the vice presidency nomination and relative insignificance of current Sens. Robert Casey and John Fetterman – one a quiet party regular and the other a party renegade – I doubt if the state’s political insignificance nationally will change.

    John P. Rossi is Emeritus Professor of History at La Salle University. 

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    John Rossi, Special to PhillyVoice

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  • Fetterman, Torres, Jones Chose to Leave Progressives

    Fetterman, Torres, Jones Chose to Leave Progressives

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    Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty Images

    “I didn’t leave the progressive movement; the progressive movement left me,” Representative Ritchie Torres of the Bronx recently told City & State New York. He was referring to the conflict within the left over Israel. Describing himself as a Zionist for the past decade, about “half of his posts, retweets or interactions” since October 7 have been supportive of Israel, City & State reported.

    Torres is not a hypocrite. If we take him at his word, he’s been a Zionist for a long time. But he’s not being entirely truthful about the progressive movement or his place within it either. The movement didn’t leave him: He left it, if indeed he was ever fully part of it, by making a series of deliberate choices. One such choice is to support Israel despite the unbelievable brutality it has inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza.

    Support for Israel isn’t the only reason Torres might find himself outside the progressive movement. During his time on the City Council, Torres angered progressive supporters by agreeing “to water down the Right to Know Act, which would have forced officers to provide a business card in every encounter with the public,” City & State reported. In 2017, ahead of the vote, he said, “I stand by what I have chosen to do, even if it means standing alone … even if it means I am no longer beloved in progressive circles.” He carried that attitude with him to Congress, where he discovered allies within the Democratic Party, such as Senator John Fetterman. The Pennsylvania senator also holds a stringent pro-Israel position and told comedian Bill Maher this month that progressivism “left” him after October 7. “I didn’t leave the label, it left me on that,” he said.

    Mondaire Jones, who’s running to return to Congress, struck a similar note in an interview with Politico. After he endorsed the AIPAC-backed George Latimer over progressive incumbent Jamaal Bowman, he came under significant fire from the left. The political arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus even rescinded its endorsement of him. “These people were never my actual friends,” he claimed, saying that he would do nothing differently if given the chance. “The appreciation that people have in these actual communities in the Hudson Valley is what matters to me,” he said. “That as well as my own sense of morality compelled me to intervene, given how god-awful Mr. Bowman’s conduct has been.”

    Torres, Fetterman, and Jones are free to say that the progressive movement has left them behind. Perhaps they think they’re even being honest. The term “progressive” can be vague, even meaningless. Various Democrats and their supporters interpret it in wildly divergent ways. It’s possible, then, for Torres to think of himself as a progressive, though he was never as far left as some may have hoped. But that exercise is difficult to sustain now, as Israel carries out a genocidal campaign in Gaza. Torres and pro-Israel politicians like him have sided with power over the powerless.

    In doing so, they’ve cast themselves out of the progressive movement. The label didn’t leave Fetterman; he merely discarded it. He was happy to call himself progressive in social-media posts, to court the left as a candidate, and to accept a Sanders endorsement during his successful run for lieutenant governor. Now, when it truly counts, Fetterman is likelier to taunt the left than he is to embrace it. The left must employ litmus tests if terms like progressive are going to mean anything at all, and Fetterman would fail. So too would Torres and Jones. If they feel uncomfortable with the progressive movement now, it’s likely a sign they never belonged in the first place. Their values were always in conflict with the left, and Gaza merely brought that reality into sharper focus.

    It’s convenient, though, for pro-Israel Democrats to shift blame onto the left. Doing so gives them a chance to present themselves as brave truth tellers: See Jones, speaking of his personal sense of morality. But the left is not as powerful as I want it to be, and no courage is necessary to attack it. Critics instead exaggerate its influence in order to score points. It’s a cheap way to look principled. Jones must invent straw men — “​​trust fund socialists in Williamsburg,” as he put it to Politico — in order to sound somewhat reasonable, let alone courageous.

    Courage is not in the eye of the beholder. It means something. (So should the word progressive.) There’s nothing brave about rejecting the left in a moment of great moral consequence. Nor is there anything particularly courageous about standing with Israel, a longtime U.S. ally, as it pummels Gaza into dust. Courage in politics looks more like Bowman, who faces a formidable challenge from AIPAC as he defends his seat in Congress. A recent poll showed Bowman trailing Latimer, who is running to his right, but Bowman has refused to compromise his beliefs. “They’ve got money, we’ve got people,” he posted on X.

    The U.S. needs a viable left: a counterweight to politicians who turn their backs to ongoing mass murder. Without it, we’re doomed not to ambivalence but something worse, an embrace of brutality and vengeance and horror. Torres, Fetterman, and Jones have made their choices. Progressive may be a mostly toothless label, but if it’s still too much, the movement is better off without them in it.

    A photo-illustration in a previous version of this story incorrectly included Antonio Delgado, not Ritchie Torres.

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  • Senate Leadership Pushes End of Federal Prohibition Of Cannabis

    Senate Leadership Pushes End of Federal Prohibition Of Cannabis

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    In a big week for the marijuana industry and a surprise to most of the industry, Senators Schumer (D-NY), (Murray D-WA), Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and 14 others have deduced to follow the public and make a change.  As of today, Senate leadership pushes end of federal prohibition of cannabis.

    Senator Patty Murray, a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) has long been a champion of veterans.  This falls in line with PTSD treatments and with the American Medical Association’s backing of rescheduling and more medical research to see how the cannabis plant can help more patients.

    RELATED: California or New York, Which Has The Biggest Marijuana Mess

    They have reintroduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), legislation that would end the harmful federal prohibition of cannabis by removing cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and empowering states to create their own laws. This legislation would be a historic step toward rectifying the failed policies of the War on Drugs and would help federal law better reflect the will of the vast majority of Americans, 91% of whom believe that cannabis should be legalized for either adult or medical use.

    “It is far past time that the federal government catch up to Washington state when it comes to cannabis laws. This legislation is about bringing cannabis regulations into the 21st century with common-sense reforms to promote public safety and public health, and undo deeply unjust laws that have for decades disproportionally harmed people of color,” said Senator Murray.  “The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act will help set us on a safe and responsible pathway to legalization—I’ll keep working to secure the necessary support to get it done.” 

    Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act establishes a federal regulatory framework to protect public health and safety, prioritizes restorative and economic justice to help undo harm caused by the War on Drugs, ends discrimination in the provision of federal benefits on the basis of cannabis use, provides major investments for cannabis research, and strengthens worker protections. By decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level, the CAOA also ensures that state-legal cannabis businesses or those in adjacent industries will no longer be denied access to bank accounts or financial services simply because of their ties to cannabis.

    The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act:

    • Protects public health by:
      • Establishing a Center for Cannabis Products to regulate production, labeling, distribution, sales and other manufacturing and retail elements of the cannabis industry.
      • Instructing the FDA to establish standards for labeling of cannabis products, including potency, doses, servings, place of manufacture, and directions for use.
      • Establishing programs and funding to prevent youth cannabis use.
      • Increasing funding for comprehensive opioid, stimulant, and substance use disorder treatment.
    • Protects public safety by:
      • Removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and eliminating federal prohibitions in states that have chosen to legalize medical cannabis, or adult-use cannabis.
      • Retaining federal prohibitions on trafficking of cannabis in violation of state law; establishing a grant program to help departments combat black market cannabis.
      • Requiring the Department of Transportation (DOT) to create standards for cannabis-impaired driving.
      • Directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to collect data on cannabis-impaired driving, create educational materials on “best practices,” and carry out media campaigns.
      • Incentivizing states to adopt cannabis open container prohibitions.
    • Regulates and taxes cannabis by:
      • Transferring federal jurisdiction over cannabis to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
      • Eliminating the tax code’s restriction on cannabis businesses claiming deductions for business expenses, and implementing an excise tax on cannabis products.
      • Establishing market competition rules meant to protect independent producers, wholesalers, and retailers and prevent anti-competitive behavior.
    • Encourages cannabis research by:
      • Requiring the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study and report on metrics that may be impacted by cannabis legalization.
      • Requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct or support research on the impacts of cannabis.
      • Requiring the VA to carry out a series of clinical trials studying the effects of medical cannabis on the health outcomes of veterans diagnosed with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.
      • Requiring the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly compile and publicize data on the demographics of business owners and employees in the cannabis industry.
      • Establishing grants to build up cannabis research capacity at institutions of higher education, with a particular focus on minority-serving institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
    • Prioritizes restorative and economic justice by:
      • Using federal tax revenue to fund an Opportunity Trust Fund to reinvest in communities and individuals most harmed by the failed War on Drugs.
      • Establishing a Cannabis Justice Office at the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs
      • Establishing a grant program to provide funding to help minimize barriers to cannabis licensing and employment for individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.
      • Establishing expedited FDA review of drugs containing cannabis manufactured by small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
      • Directing the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a grant program to provide communities whose residents have been disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs with additional funding to address the housing, economic, and community development needs of such residents.
      • Initiating automatic expungement of federal non-violent cannabis offenses and allows an individual currently serving time in federal prison for nonviolent cannabis offense to petition a court for resentencing.
      • Disallowing the denial of any benefits or protections under immigration law to any noncitizen based on their use or possession of cannabis.
      • Prevents discrimination in the provision of federal benefits against people who use cannabis.
    • Strengthens workers’ rights by:
      • Removing unnecessary federal employee pre-employment and random drug testing for cannabis
      • Ensuring worker protections for those employed in the cannabis industry.
      • Establishing grants for community-based education, outreach, and enforcement of workers’ rights in the cannabis industry.

    RELATED: Cannabis Industry Employs The Same As These Companies

    The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Laphonza Butler (D-CA).

    Senator Murray has been a leader on common-sense cannabis reforms. She helped introduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act last Congress, and in 2017, she first introduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act which would allow state-legal cannabis businesses to access banking services. She has reintroduced the bill multiple times and is pushing hard for its passage. An updated version of the legislation—the Safe and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act of 2023, which Murray also cosponsored—passed through committee after a bipartisan markup last fall.

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    Terry Hacienda

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  • Fetterman calls Rand Paul ‘peckerhead’ over Friday night, Super Bowl votes

    Fetterman calls Rand Paul ‘peckerhead’ over Friday night, Super Bowl votes

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    Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) called Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) a “peckerhead” for forcing colleagues to grind through procedural votes Friday night and Super Bowl Sunday in order to pass a funding package for Ukraine and Israel.

    Fetterman, who often sports a Pittsburgh Steelers beanie around the Senate, didn’t seem pleased at all over Paul’s threat to keep senators churning through votes during the Super Bowl to make the process of passing an emergency defense spending supplemental as arduous as possible.

    “Really, the biggest story is we’re all here tonight at 8 o’clock on Friday night because of just one peckerhead,” Fetterman fumed to reporters outside the Senate chamber.

    The Pennsylvania senator than joked that he should wear a tee-shirt that just says: “It’s because of the Republicans.”

    “That’s the answer. No border? Well, because of the Republicans,” he said, referring to most of the Senate Republican conference voting this week to block a bipartisan border security deal that Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) negotiated with the White House and Senate Democrats over four months.

    Fetterman vented his frustration over Paul’s tactics after the Kentucky senator repeated his threat not to let Senate colleagues speed up the timeline for passing the aid package.

    “I’m doing everything I can to slow down and stop this horrible bill,” Paul wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

    He said 32 Senate Republicans “want to keep fighting” to add strict border security reforms to the Ukraine and Israel funding package.

    “The leadership of the Senate under [Senate Republican Leader] Mitch McConnell [Ky.] is more concerned with sending your money to Ukraine than they are with the invasion of the southern border and I’ve had enough,” Paul told Fox Business.

    “I’ve told them they can vote when hell freezes over,” he declared.

    For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.



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  • John Fetterman Pays George Santos To Burn Bob Menendez In Most Fitting Way

    John Fetterman Pays George Santos To Burn Bob Menendez In Most Fitting Way

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  • Politicians Explain Why They Will Not Endorse A Ceasefire

    Politicians Explain Why They Will Not Endorse A Ceasefire

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    With the Palestinian death toll rapidly rising and conditions in Gaza deteriorating into a humanitarian crisis amid the Israeli invasion, The Onion asked politicians why they will not endorse a ceasefire, and this is what they said.

    Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

    Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

    Image for article titled Politicians Explain Why They Will Not Endorse A Ceasefire

    “I haven’t gotten to experience a world war since my boyhood.”

    Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)

    Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)

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    “I lament even those momentary pauses in violence when IDF soldiers have to stop shooting to reload.”

    Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

    Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

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    “A ceasefire would send the message to Palestinians that we give a shit whether they live or die.”

    Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)

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    “I have a perfect record when it comes to ethnic cleansing, and I’m not about to tarnish that now.”

    Vice President Kamala Harris

    Vice President Kamala Harris

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    “Well-behaved missiles seldom make history.”

    Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

    Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

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    “Last I checked, there were still some Palestinian civilians left.”

    Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

    Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

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    “An open-air prison actually sounds nice. What do I look like, some kind of abolitionist?”

    Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

    Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

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    “That would stop the genocidal momentum the IDF has built.”

    Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL)

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    “Because I’m making money off this. What don’t you understand?”

    Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)

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    “Shhh, keep your voice down. Saying that word in Texas is illegal.”

    Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

    Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

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    “The people of Gaza are free to start making campaign donations whenever they please.”

    Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA)

    Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA)

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    “Poked myself in the eye with a kebab skewer. Now all must pay.”

    Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN)

    Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN)

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    “Based on the last election, I figure my presidential campaign can only be helped by the absence of a strong stance on anything.”

    Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)

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    “Ugh, just come back to bed. Can’t we go one night without getting into a screaming match?”

    Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)

    Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)

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    “When you become a U.S. senator, they tell you that you’ll be legally castrated if you ever try to stop any wars.”

    Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL)

    Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL)

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    “I mean, if it were up to me, they’d be air-striking the shit out of the continental U.S. as well.”

    Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

    Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

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    “That’s actually a good idea. If we can trick the Palestinians into thinking we’re not going to fire anymore, they’ll be easier to shoot!”

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

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    “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would never allow the U.S. to finance the Israeli military if it wasn’t perfectly safe.”

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

    Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

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    “I don’t want to lose my widespread appeal among moderates.”

    Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)

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    “I support firing both missiles and a message of love at Palestine.”

    You’ve Made It This Far…

    You’ve Made It This Far…

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  • John Fetterman confronted by pro-Palestinian protester in viral video

    John Fetterman confronted by pro-Palestinian protester in viral video

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    Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman apparently walked away from a member of the public who was questioning him about his failure to support a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as Israel has reportedly started to roll out its ground invasion of the territory.

    Following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7, the Democratic senator stated he would “unequivocally support any necessary military, intelligence, and humanitarian aid to Israel.” In a later statement, he reiterated his support for Israel, adding: “Now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire.”

    Since the Hamas attack, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and put the territory under a siege that has caused a shortage of water, food, and electricity for the millions living there, leading to an outcry from human rights organizations calling for an immediate ceasefire.

    According to the latest report by The Associated Press, the Palestinian death toll now exceeds 8,000, as per the Health Ministry in Gaza. In Israel, more than 1,400 people have been killed, most of them on October 7.

    Fetterman’s stance sparked state-wide pro-Palestinian protests outside his four offices, with hundreds of demonstrators gathering at Custom House in Philadelphia on Thursday.

    U.S. Sen. John Fetterman on April 17, 2023, in Washington D.C. In a viral video, Fetterman was confronted by a professor of international human rights law about his stance against a ceasefire in Gaza.
    Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    Among the many who have called on Fetterman to reconsider his position and demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza was Daniel Kovalik, a 55-year-old professor of international human rights who shared a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which he confronts the senator about his stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

    In the video, Kovalik, who teaches at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, asked the Democrat why he doesn’t support a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. After an off-camera person appeared to attempt to stop Kovalik from asking such questions, Kovalik said: “I can talk to him [Fetterman], I voted for him. I’m sorry, this is a democracy.”

    “Ten thousand people in Gaza have been killed, half are children. The pope is calling for a ceasefire, the UN has called for it,” Kovalik said. “I’m just asking, you’re a good guy, I voted for you, I know you’re a nice guy, this is important,” the professor continued before being told by the same person off-camera that he needed to leave.

    Fetterman, who had remained silent while listening to Kovalik, can be seen walking away as the professor is physically pushed out of the building.

    The person taking the video, who keeps on filming, can be heard saying that the staff member who pushed Kovalik away had “just assaulted” him, as he was only talking to the senator.

    “​​I just took on ⁦⁦John Fetterman⁩ for his failure to support a ceasefire for Gaza and was assaulted. Come see the violence inherent in the system,” Kovalik wrote on X.

    The clip has gone viral on the platform, receiving more than 2.8 million views. It has not been possible to ascertain where the incident took place and Newsweek contacted Fetterman’s press team and Kovalik for comment and further information via email on Monday.

    In a statement published by his office, Fetterman said he won’t support a ceasefire in Gaza until after “Hamas is neutralized.”

    “Innocent Israelis were the victims of a terrorist attack that resulted in the largest loss of Jewish lives since the Holocaust. Now we know that the tragedy at the Gaza hospital was not caused by Israel,” he wrote.

    “I grieve for every innocent person and brave Israeli soldier killed since Hamas started this war. If not for the horrific attacks by Hamas terrorists, thousands of innocent Israelis and Palestinians would still be alive today.”

    He added: “Now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire. We must support Israel in their efforts to eliminate the Hamas terrorists who slaughtered innocent men, women, and children. Hamas does not want peace, they want to destroy Israel. We can talk about a ceasefire after Hamas is neutralized.”

    Fetterman’s opposition to a ceasefire has been criticized by some of his own former staff members, with a group of 16 ex-campaign staffers signing an open letter to the senator asking him to change his stance, as first reported by The Intercept news outlet.

    “Watching the United States military apparatus beat the drum for war—promising the Israeli government unconditional weapons support, a blank check for more destruction that will lead to the killing of more innocent Israelis and Palestinians, including children—has been hear-wrenching. Watching you lead that charge has felt like a gutting betrayal,” the letter, signed by “Fetterman Alumni for Peace,” reads.

    “These are not the values that we believed you to hold, and these are not our values.”

    According to The Intercept, the former staffers wished to remain anonymous, Newsweek has not been able to immediately verify the veracity of the letter.