- Elizabeth Warren told The Washington Post, “There’s no one like” John Fetterman in the upper chamber.
- Fetterman, who was elected last year, ran a populist campaign centered on working-class voters.
- He has frequently called on Bob Menendez to resign after the NJ senator was indicted in September.
Sen. John Fetterman may have had some time to find his way around Capitol Hill, but he’s still not enamored with the trappings of Washington.
The Pennsylvania Democrat — who flipped a key Senate seat in last year’s midterms and whose stroke and battle with depression have been a part of his journey to the upper chamber — has not strayed much from the populist message that was a key part of his appeal to voters in the Keystone State. He hasn’t suddenly started hobnobbing with Washington’s elite on the cocktail circuit, generally eating a takeout salad or Ethiopian food in solitude at his apartment.
He’s often seen walking around the Capitol in hoodies and shorts. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s attempt to institute a more relaxed dress code on the floor elicited disapproval from most of his GOP colleagues, leading senators to reverse course on the move. (Fetterman later poked fun at Republicans over the issue.)
For an institution like the Senate, drastic changes can be difficult for most members to swallow.
However, Sen. Elizabeth Warren told The Washington Post that Fetterman’s energy is just what the body needs.
“John Fetterman brings his own vibe to the Senate,” the Massachusetts Democrat said. “There’s no one like him and it’s a good thing to shake this stuffy place up a little bit.”
Fetterman has been especially vocal in calling for the resignation of Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. He was the first Senate Democrat to do so. (In September, Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were indicted on bribery charges, with federal prosecutors accusing them of helping a trio of Egyptian businessmen in exchange for bribes. The senator has since pleaded not guilty and has rejected calls to step down from office.)
“He has his opportunity to defend those choices but he should not have the right to remain in [the Senate],” Fetterman told The Post regarding Menendez.
When Warren was asked if Fetterman’s continued needling of Menendez has created any friction toward the senator from other Democratic members, she pointed to her own relationship with the Pennsylvanian.
“I’m still friendly with him, that’s all I know,” she said.
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