John Fetterman Keeps Bucking Democrats, But Lawmakers Say He’s Still Part of Their ‘Big Tent’

Support for the senator has plummeted among Pennsylvania Democrats and surged among the Republican electorate there.

John Fetterman

Sen. John Fetterman J. Scott Applewhite/AP

John Fetterman is putting the Democratic Party’s “big tent” philosophy to the test.

The Pennsylvania senator has broken with Democrats repeatedly in recent months, voting for the Republican-backed budget bill to reopen the government, disavowing Democrats who “villainize” President Donald Trump and crossing party lines to confirm several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees.

But Democrats in the House and Senate told NOTUS they still see having Fetterman’s voice in the party as valuable. Sen. Mark Kelly told NOTUS that Democrats’ ideological diversity is one of the party’s strengths.