Fetterman Told Staff a Trip to Three Police Funerals Was 'a Nonstarter.' The Texts Are Now Public.
Messages between the Pennsylvania senator and his aides, first published by The Wall Street Journal, show him pushing back on constituent meetings, hospital visits and hearings. Two House Democrats from his own state called him lazy.
WASHINGTON — Text messages between Sen. John Fetterman and his own staff, first published by The Wall Street Journal and obtained separately by CBS News, show the Pennsylvania Democrat repeatedly resisting the routine obligations of the job: constituent meetings, events in his home state and committee hearings. A former staffer confirmed the messages' accuracy to CBS News.
One exchange concerns three police officers killed near York, Pennsylvania. Aides told Fetterman that attending the funeral services would take "at least 3 hours" and involve "9+ hours driving." He replied that it was "a nonstarter." Fetterman later told CNN that he had privately attended a Tunnel to Towers fundraiser in June, met with the officers' families and sent flowers.
In another, staff pressed him on why he kept having to meet representatives of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Well I'm not," Fetterman answered, adding, "I'm convinced they just want free trips to DC." He has since called that "a dumb joke," apologized, and said he has met hospital officials both virtually and in person.
The messages also describe a day when Fetterman begged off a meeting with paralyzed military veterans from Pennsylvania, saying he was ill, and then appeared on Fox News. He told CNN he had been "throwing up," asked his staff to go ahead without him, and felt well enough to work a few hours later.
The reaction from Pennsylvania Democrats in the House was blunt. Rep. Chris Deluzio cited "laziness, disrespect." Rep. Brendan Boyle called Fetterman a "disgrace" and a "lazy trust fund baby." A former staffer offered a broader complaint about how the office functions: "You can't have any sort of substantial conversation with him about any policy or strategy without it becoming completely derailed or unhinged."
Fetterman won the seat in 2022, taking the Democratic primary and then beating Republican Mehmet Oz in the general election after suffering a stroke during the campaign. He had been Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor. Since arriving in the Senate he has moved away from his party on a series of high-profile votes — he backed President Trump's decision to go to war with Iran and was the only Senate Democrat to vote against reining in the president's war powers, and he has supported a number of administration nominees.
He has ruled out switching parties. His stated red line is if Democrats become, in his words, "the anti-Israel party." The texts do not change any vote count in the Senate. What they change is the argument inside his own party about whether the seat is being worked at all.
Originally reported by CBS News.