Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a Democrat known for his unorthodox streak and willingness to challenge his own party, conceded in a recent interview that Democrats bear responsibility for the ongoing federal government shutdown — a rare admission from within the ranks of the majority party.
“I feel like the Democrats really need to own the shutdown,” Fetterman said. “I mean, we’re shutting it down. I know why. They claim because they want to address the tax credits. And I fully support that.”
The budget stalemate has dragged on for weeks as Democrats push to make permanent a series of COVID-era tax subsidies linked to the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare. Republicans, by contrast, have urged Congress to approve a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the government while negotiations over the subsidies continue.
Fetterman, who has consistently voted for funding measures regardless of which party introduced them, underscored the harm a prolonged shutdown could inflict on ordinary Americans. “I voted for all of their CRs, our CRs, every single time,” he said. “We can’t be putting 42 million people who rely on food stamps in danger because of political gridlock.”
While the senator expressed support for extending Obamacare’s healthcare subsidies, he was sharply critical of the Democratic strategy to use the shutdown as a bargaining chip. “It was wrong when the Republicans did it,” he said. “It’s wrong now that we seem to be driving it.”
Fetterman’s remarks mark a rare public acknowledgment from a sitting Democrat that his own party’s tactics have helped trigger the crisis. His comments have drawn attention both for their candor and for how they highlight growing unease among moderates about the direction of the Democratic leadership under President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Republicans have seized on Fetterman’s admission as evidence that Democrats are deliberately prolonging the shutdown for political leverage. GOP leaders argue that Americans should not have to suffer economic disruptions because of what they describe as the left’s obsession with preserving pandemic-era spending.
Fetterman’s independent streak has made him one of the most unpredictable figures in Washington. In recent months, he has defied expectations by crossing party lines on several issues, particularly those related to national security and government transparency.
In October, he broke with progressive orthodoxy by signaling openness to a Republican-led proposal to abolish the Senate filibuster — a procedural rule long defended by Democrats when in the minority but often criticized when they hold power. Calling it “a weapon for gridlock,” Fetterman argued that the Senate’s rules often prevent necessary reform.
He has also teamed up with Republican senators on legislation targeting Chinese influence in U.S. agriculture, especially regarding the purchase of American farmland by corporations linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
Still, Fetterman insists his contrarian positions do not signal a party switch. “It’s not gonna happen,” he said in January. “Even if I wanted to do that, that is a rocket sled to Palookaville. I would make a pretty bad Republican.”
Even so, his latest comments have underscored what many conservatives have long argued: that Democrats are willing to hold the government hostage over spending priorities that serve their political base. For now, with millions of Americans caught in the middle, it is clear that even within their own ranks, some Democrats are beginning to question whether this shutdown is worth the cost.
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