John Fetterman breaks ranks with Democrats over shutdown, pledges to put ‘country over party’

WASHINGTON, DC: Sen John Fetterman isn’t here to play party politics. The Pennsylvania Democrat dropped by 'Hannity' on Wednesday night and told the host he’s ready to “pay a price” with his own party if that’s what it takes to reopen the government.

“I am always going to vote country over my party, and if I pay a price within my base, that's something I am willing to do,” Fetterman said.

The shutdown has now entered its fourth week. While most of Washington is busy pointing fingers, Fetterman says he’s focused on getting the military and Capitol Police paid.

John Fetterman 'not afraid' of truth

The hoodie-wearing senator called the 22-day shutdown flat-out wrong. "I'm not afraid to tell my truth, and if I'm going to pay a penalty, I'm not afraid of that," he told Fox host Sean Hannity. "It's wrong to shut our government down."

Earlier that same day, Fetterman blasted the shutdown on X, labeling it a “failure.” For him, it’s not about scoring partisan points but real people losing access to essential programs like SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that feeds millions of Americans.

“I refuse to vote to suspend SNAP for millions of Pennsylvanians in my state and across the entire nation,” he insisted.

With 42 million Americans relying on SNAP to afford basic groceries, Fetterman said cutting the program because of a political standoff is unconscionable.

“That’s going to be suspended because our government is shut down,” he warned. “I can't ever vote for that kind of mass food insecurity.”

Breaking with Democrats on the filibuster

The Democrat called out his own party for suddenly acting like fans of the 60-vote rule after years of campaigning against it. “I think it would be rather hypocritical for us as a party now to suddenly love the filibuster,” he told Cory Smith and Hillary Howard on Sunrise on the Hill Wednesday morning.

“In that cycle that I ran, all of us ran on getting rid of the filibuster to enact exactly parts of our agenda. And now we can’t pretend that we love it or pretend we just were in a much different situation just a couple years ago,” he added.

Fetterman even told reporters Tuesday he’d back Republicans if they pulled the so-called “nuclear option” that would allow them to bypass the 60-vote requirement and pass a funding bill with a simple majority to reopen the government.

The Senator argued that if the filibuster’s been scrapped before for judicial appointments and other “carveouts,” then keeping the lights on in Washington should absolutely qualify.

“And I do think carving it out makes sense, too, because it would make it virtually impossible for either party, Republican or Democrats, to shut it down,” Fetterman said.

Calling out ‘extreme’ rhetoric from his own side

The Pennsylvania Democrat also slammed what he sees as over-the-top rhetoric from both parties, including fellow Democrats. He specifically pushed back against the tendency to brand President Donald Trump and his supporters with labels like “fascist.”

“Extreme kinds of rhetoric make it easier for those extreme kinds of actions,” he said.

“I refuse to be a part of it and comparing people to Hitler and those things,” Fetterman added. “If that's what's required to win, then I refuse to.”

Fetterman warned that this kind of language is pushing the nation off the rails. “We’ve lost the plot,” he said. “I refuse to call my fellow citizens fascists or Nazis or those things. If somebody wants to primary me or the party wants to vote me out, I'm going to go down being honest and telling you that this is wrong.”

He urged both sides to cool the rhetoric and focus on what actually matters. "It's just basic humanity and we're forgetting that we all need each other," Fetterman concluded.