Pennsylvania Sens. John Fetterman (D) and Dave McCormick (R) appeared together on Thursday to publicly denounce the federal government shutdown in a rare show of bipartisan unity that focused on how the shutdown was impacting Pennsylvanians, especially families and federal workers who aren't receiving paychecks while the government is shut down.
“Here we are in Washington, D.C., and it is shut down,” Fetterman said in a video posted to social media. “But now here it’s both Pennsylvania’s voice here in the U.S. Senate, even though we are in a different party, and we both want to talk about why we believe it’s so important to reopen this government.”
The shutdown is "really starting to hurt Pennsylvania," McCormick agreed.
“Twenty-three days, 12 votes,” he stated. “Senator Fetterman and I have both voted to open up the government. We agree on that 100%. We’ve got to get the government open. That’s our main responsibility. And I’d say that regardless of what party is in the majority.”
The pair noted that almost 2 million Pennsylvanians receive some sort of SNAP benefits for food, which will be cut off as of November 1 due to a lack of federal funding.
“Our votes are about country over party at this point,” he remarked. “Now we have two million Pennsylvanians that rely on SNAP. That’s going to stop, and we can now stop, reopen this government, and have an earnest conversation about extending those tax credits. We’re in a different party. We’re on the same team for Pennsylvania and our nation.”
McCormick concluded, “Pennsylvanians expect it. Pennsylvanians deserve it.”
Fetterman was one of three senators who voted with Republicans for the continuing resolution that would have kept things running until November 21, but the Senate was still a few votes short of the 60 needed to break the filibuster.
He told Fox News, “It’s wrong to shut our government down. And then if I lose some support within the base, well, I’m going to be honest, and I’ll be the Democrat to refuse to lie to the base and just say that it’s the right thing to shut the government down.”
While many independent voters and Republicans are finding Fetterman to be a breath of fresh air in a hyperpartisan environment, he is facing mounting opposition within the Democrat Party as he continues to stand up to it on a number of issues.
He isn't jumping on the Trump-hating train, but has said he wants to work with Trump and Republicans when it benefits Pennsylvanians.
Pennsylvania is also experiencing a shutdown at the state level, as the Democrat-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate have failed to agree on spending since July 1.
Currently, Pennsylvania is the only state without an operating budget, and the two parties are still about $3 billion apart in their respective spending bills.
Fetterman and McCormick don't have any influence on state politics, though, so there's not much they can do about it.
