A former campaign staffer said Sen. John Fetterman’s single-minded focus came at the exclusion of the progressive positions he ran on.
By Akela Lacy, The Intercept
The exodus of staff from the office of Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., continued Thursday with two new departures.
The exits of the longtime staffers reflects a deep disillusionment in Fetterman’s office with his disavowal of progressive politics and turn toward the right in both his openness to working with President Donald Trump and his embrace of strident pro-Israel positions.
The office’s “major staff turnover,” as one team Fetterman veteran put it, comes amid a tough hiring environment for Democratic staffers in Washington.
“I don’t find this as a surprise,” said the former Fetterman campaign staffer, who requested anonymity to protect their livelihood. “I think the staff is probably frustrated that working in the Fetterman office means you’re just working on Israel all the time.”
“This is a guy who came in talking about being a champion for labor and he’s gone pretty quiet on it,” they said. “This is a guy who, since Trump won, is for lack of better word basically a useful idiot for Republicans. He’s supporting stuff and it gives them cover to say, ‘Look it’s bipartisan, we got Fetterman.’”
The most recent departures are two of six from Fetterman’s office since his hard pro-Israel turn after the October 7 attacks in 2023. Three of Fetterman’s top communications staffers left his office last spring after he claimed he was not a progressive amid criticism from his left-leaning colleagues over his aggressive pro-Israel stances.
Recent Posts
Israeli Historian Ilan Pappé: Despite Ceasefire, Palestinians Still Face “Elimination, Genocide”
Take Action Now “I hope that the world will not be misled that Israel is now ready to open a different kind of page in its relationship with…
Who Will Defend Ordinary Working People Against Trump And MAGA?
Take Action Now How powerful can this movement-based opposition be? That depends on what the ordinary Americans being harmed by the Trump regime…
Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis
Take Action Now In a filing in the Federal Register, the Labor Department argues there are “immediate dangers to the American food supply” due to a…
Federal Judge Sides With Journalists, Protesters in Chicago Over Violent Tactics of Trump’s Federal Agents
Take Action Now “Individuals are allowed to protest,” the judge said. “They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment to our…