Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is torching his own party as the federal shutdown threatens to cut off food assistance for millions — and he’s warning Democrats are playing a dangerous political game.
The Pennsylvania Democrat blasted his colleagues Tuesday as officials from 25 states and Washington, D.C., sued President Donald Trump’s administration over the suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding. The USDA has refused to dip into a roughly $5 billion reserve to cover November benefits, saying “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.” States that pay upfront won’t be reimbursed.
Democrats and advocacy groups insist the department should use the funds to keep SNAP running for the roughly 42 million Americans who depend on it — but Fetterman says his own side is gambling with people’s livelihoods.
In a post on X, he accused Democrats of “playing chicken” with food security, adding, “I reject a political gamble that exposes a vulnerable constituency to widespread deprivation and chaos.”
Fetterman — who has bucked his party repeatedly during the historic shutdown — called last week’s stalemate a “failure” as lawmakers let the crisis drag on.
And he made clear on NewsNation what he thinks is really driving the impasse: fear of the progressive base.
“As a Democrat, I am incredibly — you know, I’ve been disappointed and I refuse to have a political gamble that’s going to put those kinds of food security for 42 million Americans at risk on this,” he told Chris Cuomo. “Now, some people might be afraid of the extreme left, but I am not one. I am not one of those Dems.”
WATCH:
With families facing potential disruptions to benefits next month, Fetterman is positioning himself as one of the few Democrats willing to say out loud what party leaders refuse to admit — that keeping the government closed may be more about appeasing the left than protecting vulnerable Americans.
