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Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman ripped fellow Democrats for opposing US attacks on Iran pm Sunday — and reminded them that their 2024 presidential candidate called the country America’s “greatest adversary.”
Fetterman — who is now at odds with his party over the Trump administration’s Iran stance — cited former Vice President Kamala Harris’ statements about the regime while she ran unsuccessfully for president in 2024.
“I became the only Democrat, certainly in the Senate, to support the mission of Epic Fury,” Fetterman said during an interview on 77 WABC radio’s “Cats Roundtable” on Sunday.
All Democrats agree Iran shouldn’t have a nuclear weapon, he said.
“When Kamala Harris ran for president … she identified Iran as her top international concern,” he added. “And now here we have a situation where the Trump administration through Epic Fury has effectively broken the Iranian nuclear apparatus. Why can’t we agree that that’s a good thing for international security?”
He said a spike in oil prices because of the conflict should be expected, but said he believed the short-term pain at the pump is worth defanging Iran as a nemesis.
“If the administration creates the kind of outcome that we all agree and wanted … why can’t we support that?” the senator said.
Fetterman also tore into fellow party members for supporting the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security — accusing them of turning against union workers.
“I [was] the only Democrat to vote against that DHS shutdown,” he told radio host John Catsimatidis.
“The Coast Guard people … and the TSA [Transportation Security Administration] agents … they all deserve to be paid,” Fetterman said, adding that he thinks it’s foolish for Democrats to refuse to fund the department because of criticisms of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“This shutdown has had zero impact on ICE. So, why should we punish all of these workers … who are keeping our nation more secure? That’s part of being … a common-sense Democrat.”
He said Democrats used to chide Republicans for shutting down the government.
“Don’t shut the government down. We used to be the party that refused to do these things. …Why am I the only Democrat in the process now to say [this]? I thought we are the party of union workers,” Fetterman said.
“[Now] we are constantly voting to prevent them from being paid for their work,” he added.
Fetterman was once embraced by the progressive left and received backing from liberal groups during his successful campaign for Senate in 2022. But the left-wing Working Families Party has turned on Fetterman, launching a website to support a Democratic primary opponent against him.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, through a spokesman, decined to comment on Fetterman’s attack on Senate Democrats’ positions.
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