Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is emerging as one of the Senate’s most frustrating Democrats, not because he wields power like a swing vote, but because he refuses to use it at all.
Since joining the Senate in 2023, Fetterman has at times embraced the characteristics of the political mavericks who came before him, such as Democrats-turned-independents Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Yet, unlike the middle-of-the-road duo, Fetterman does not wield his would-be leverage to score policy wins.
The first-term senator underscored that approach last week when he cast the deciding vote to advance now-Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s nomination amid a partial government shutdown of the agency. That decision, which effectively bailed out Mullin’s stalled nomination in committee, has reignited tensions with Democrats and raised fresh questions about Fetterman’s role in a narrowly divided Senate.
In a brief interview at the Capitol with the Washington Examiner, Fetterman called it “gross” to imagine he could have leveraged his position and that critics, Democrats included, are free to “judge me on me voting for what I think is true.” The centrist senator distanced himself from the brands of Manchin and Sinema, reaffirming he has no desire to leave the Democratic Party even as potential primary challengers line up to take him on in 2028.
“I’m not like any of them. So, I will remain a Democrat, and I’m going to vote on things that I believe are true, and that does not mean that they’re entirely limited to the Democratic side,” Fetterman said. “My vote is not for sale.”
Fetterman’s vote to advance Mullin from the Homeland Security Committee was crucial, since the panel’s chairman, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), opposed. Without Fetterman, Mullin’s nomination would not have moved past the panel, and Senate Republicans lacked the 60 votes needed to discharge the nomination from the committee to the floor.
Fetterman surprised some Republicans with his lack of demands to save Mullin’s otherwise doomed confirmation, but others found it in line with his bipartisan nature.
“He’s not playing games,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said. “He’s just saying, if a policy feels right to him, he’s going to support it. If the person is the right person for the job, he’s going to support them. It’s pretty straightforward. In Washington, that’s kind of an unusual trait.”
The approach sets Fetterman apart from Manchin and Sinema, who routinely used their swing vote status to extract concessions or shape legislation.
Manchin served from 2010 to 2025, and leveraged his power atop the Senate’s energy committee and as a member of the appropriations panel to bring home federal funds for West Virginia and to push pet initiatives like permitting reform. Sinema, meanwhile, served from 2019 to 2025 and helped clinch a Biden-era bipartisan gun safety deal. Both heavily influenced Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law and the Build Back Better Act, centered on the economy and clean energy, though their powers were notably leveraged to the max under a 50-50 Democratic majority.
Fetterman, by contrast, has built a reputation as an unpredictable but transactional-free vote, one guided more by instinct than negotiation. The Pennsylvania centrist has been a thorn in his party’s side for the past year as Democrats have struggled to present a united front against President Donald Trump.
Fetterman is an outspoken outlier among Democrats in his refusal to use government shutdowns as policy leverage, steadfast support for Israel, advocacy for a strong immigration agenda, and opposition to war powers resolutions seeking to curb Trump’s military operations against Iran. He was noncommittal Wednesday on whether he’d support a Republican vote slated for the following day on requiring photo ID nationwide at polling locations amid debate over Trump’s marquee elections bill dubbed the SAVE America Act.
“I don’t have a label other than just someone that’s fighting for Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said. “It’s really part of the moral clarity, like Israel or securing our border — deport all the criminals — and if someone disagrees, they’re entitled. But I do think that’s the right side.”
The stance is exacerbating tensions among Democrats and renewing calls for Fetterman’s ouster, if he chooses to run for reelection in 2028.
Former Rep. Conor Lamb, who lost the Democratic Senate primary to Fetterman in 2022, is eyeing another run and not hiding his criticism on social media. Another possible challenger, Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), has said Fetterman’s support for Mullin showed “why he is Trump’s favorite Democrat.”
Fetterman’s Senate colleagues are more cordial, despite underlying tensions in the caucus.
Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), elected to the Senate in the same 2022 cycle as Fetterman, remains a “good friend” to him and described Fetterman as “totally committed to improving life for the working class.” In a humorous jab at Fetterman’s usual wardrobe of a hoodie and gym shorts around the Capitol, Welch quipped that “Joe Manchin would never look so good in a hoodie and cargo shorts.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), floated by some progressive groups as the next Senate Democratic leader to succeed Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), said Manchin was “effective at using his vote,” which draws contrast to Fetterman.
“With Manchin, there was a consistency based on political imperative. I don’t see these as parallel,” Van Hollen said. “Manchin was pretty effective at using his vote. And of course, he had the advantage of being here when we were in the majority for a period of time.”
Others were less willing to discuss Fetterman. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a member of leadership and an outspoken progressive, declined to weigh in on his Democratic colleague.
“I’ll pass on that one,” Murphy said. “It doesn’t do me a lot of good to comment on stories on my colleagues.”
David Sivak contributed to this report.
