John Fetterman Lone Senate Democrat Not to Condemn Trump's J6 Pardon, Breaking Further From Party

Democratic Senator John Fetterman was the only member of his party in the Senate who refused to sign a resolution that officially condemns President Donald Trump's decision to pardon Jan. 6 defendants who assaulted Capitol Police Officers, saying the move invites future political violence. His office did not immediately comment on the matter.

The one-line resolution indicates that the "Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers."

The resolution is unlikely to pass as Republicans control the Senate, but its formal introduction could force some GOP Senators to take a clear stance on the matter, considering some have spoken against it.

But this isn't the first time Fetterman has broken with his party. The Pennsylvanian who won a three-candidate primary and survived a stroke amid a high-pressure campaign, became the first Senate Democrat to meet with Trump after the 2024 election.

"I'm the Senator for all Pennsylvanians— not just Democrats in Pennsylvania," Fetterman said in a statement after revealing Trump invited him to Mar-a-Lago. "I've been clear that no one is my gatekeeper. I will meet with and have a conversation with anyone if it helps me deliver for Pennsylvania and the nation."

For his part, Trump told the Washington Examiner that they had a "totally fascinating meeting" and that Fetterman is a "commonsense person" and "not liberal or conservative."

He has also declined to dismiss some of the president's most controversial ideas. For instance, the senator declined to rule out supporting Trump's plan to take control of Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal. "I don't think Greenland is absurd," Fetterman said, pointing to an era of American expansionism that included the Louisiana Purchase.

Now Pennsylvania's senior senator, Fetterman has also made waves in the mainstream for his stance on the war in Gaza. After the Oct. 7 attack that launched the war, Fetterman was among the most outspoken supporters of Israel as Democrats became divided on the issue. Many continued to support Israel while expressing reservations about the way it was prosecuting the war, while others became highly critical of it altogether.

He further made heads turn within his party and electorate when he co-sponsored a GOP bill to detain unauthorized immigrants accused of certain crimes and helped get it past a procedural hurdle in the Senate. Amid brewing Democratic opposition, Fetterman remarked on Fox News that if enough Democrats couldn't join with Republicans to pass the bill "then that's why we lost" the 2024 election.

But despite seemingly parting ways with his party's establishment, the senator has squashed questions and rumors about potentially switching parties. He told Semafor that talk about a party flip to the GOP is "amateur-hour s—."

"If they think, 'Oh, it's going to be like a Manchin or a Sinema play,' that's just not true, and that's not going to happen," Fetterman said to the outlet on the evening of Trump's inauguration, referring to former Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), who began their careers as Democrats but retired this year as Independents.

"It's not going to happen. And even if I wanted to do that, this is a rocket sled to Palookaville to try and switch— I would make a pretty bad Republican," he continued.