Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said in an interview published Monday that he is unsure whether his own party still wants him, even as Republicans work to pull him across the aisle.
Fetterman told NBC News that his place inside the Democratic caucus has grown uncertain as the party drifts on Israel. The Pennsylvania Democrat has spent months warning that his colleagues are turning against the Jewish state, and he put the rift in blunt terms.
“If the Democratic caucus doesn’t want me, they could just let me know,” Fetterman said, lamenting “the very anti-Israel party that we’re becoming.”
Republicans have made no secret of their interest. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Tuesday that his conference would take him in.
“Yes, we would welcome him,” Thune said. “There are many of us who, I think, would welcome the opportunity to have him join the Republican conference, but ultimately that’s a decision that’s up to him.”
One House vote sharpened his frustration. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) put up an amendment to cut $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel. It went down. But 103 of the 212 House Democrats voted for it. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was one of them.
The senator has stopped short of joining the GOP. He told CNN that a switch would not change how he governs.
“If I change my party spontaneously right now, my views and my votes aren’t going to change,” Fetterman said. If he does leave, he says he would go independent first. He is not jumping straight to the Republican Party. He also would not say much about the private talks Republicans have had with him.
Democrats need to flip four Republican seats in November to win the majority. Do that, and Fetterman becomes the 51st vote. He would decide which party runs the Senate.
A Quinnipiac University poll found 52 percent of Pennsylvania voters want Fetterman to leave the party.
The tension comes as Fetterman has repeatedly broken with his party. In June, he sided with Senate Republicans on Iran. The vote was on a Democrat resolution to rein in President Donald Trump’s war powers. Fetterman helped kill it. Few Democrats joined him.
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