Fact Check: Did John Fetterman call for Rashida Tlaib's expulsion from Congress for hate speech?
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA: A rumor has been circulating on social media platforms claiming that Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman is considering filing a petition against Rep Rashida Tlaib to expel her from Congress for hate speech. The claim has sparked mixed reactions among people. Let us analyze the origins of the claim and fact-check it.
Claim: John Fetterman calls for Rashida Tlaib to be expelled from Congress
According to the viral claim, Fetterman says he's petitioning the Democratic National Committee to have Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) expelled from Congress for hate speech.
"She continues to support Hamas and repeatedly calls for the elimination of the Jewish state," said Fetterman, according to the claim, "I don't see how we can keep her in the building."
The post slams Tlaib as well as several others in the Democratic 'progressive' wing, who have called for Israel to vacate the land granted to them by God and re-established by the entire world in 1948, and hand it to the people of Palestine.
Fetterman allegedly asked, “How can we keep supporting her and sending her our fundraising dollars?”
Fact Check: False, the claim originated as a satire
However, there are no official statements or reports that say the Democratic Senator is considering a petition against the Democratic Congresswoman.
A search on Google for the claim yielded no relevant results from any credible news media outlets about the developments.
If the claim were true, it would have been widely covered by prominent outlets such as Reuters, AP, and Fox News.
Moreover, the claim was first posted by a popular parody account on Facebook called ‘America’s Last Line of Defense’, which states in its bio, “Nothing on this page is real.”
John Fetterman breaks ranks with Democrats over Palestinian statehood
Last year, Fetterman publicly broke ranks with his own party, aligning himself with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham over growing Democratic support for Palestinian statehood.
Fetterman’s remarks came in the aftermath of a deadly antisemitic attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach, Australia, that left at least 12 people dead.
Reacting to the attack and the broader international response to the Israel-Hamas war, Fetterman accused members of his own party of tolerating antisemitic rhetoric and failing to confront extremism clearly and forcefully.
Appearing on the same program as Graham, Fetterman said he agreed “with virtually everything” the South Carolina senator warned about regarding Palestinian statehood.
