Fact Check: Did John Fetterman call for Rashida Tlaib's expulsion from Congress for hate speech?

Post claims John Fetterman is considering filing a petition against Rep Rashida Tlaib

BY SAURAV SURESH

PUBLISHED APR 21, 2026

Viral post claims John Fetterman is considering filing a petition against Rep Rashida Tlaib to expel her from Congress (Getty Images)

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

The post slams Tlaib as well as several others in the Democratic 'progressive' wing, who have called for Israel to vacate (America's Last Line of Defense/Facebook)

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

Rashida Tlaib’s campaign made dozens of payments to the limousine service, categorizing them as travel and transportation expenses over roughly a year (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) speaks during a hearing with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Capitol Hill on May 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attended the hearing to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Homeland Security. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) — Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) speaks during a hearing with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Capitol Hill on May 20, 2025, in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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.