U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) appears ready to bury the campaign hatchet he wielded against GOP Sen. Dave McCormick, claiming he met with his modern counterpart over dinner and had a “big discussion.”
Fetterman said both he and McCormick “want a better Pennsylvania.” He made the remarks to reporters at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, which opened Saturday in Harrisburg, a day after he became the Keystone State’s senior senator.
McCormick took the oath on Friday as the state’s junior senator, after defeating longtime incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (R-Pa.).
Fetterman, who was a sturdy supporter of Casey and during which he made sturdy remarks his farewell speech for the U.S. Senate, said he and his wife Gisele recently met in Pittsburgh with McCormick and his wife Dina, a former Trump administration official.
While Fetterman said he will miss his “dear friend” Casey, he said he is “looking forward to creating a new one and working with him.”
Fetterman, member of the U.S. Senate committee on Agriculture, nutrition and forestry”, said he met with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of agriculture Brooke Rollinsand plans to vote to approve it. While she may have different views than him, he said Rollins “has a strong background.”
Unlike many Democrats, Fetterman did met with several Trump nominees over the past month and said he didn’t know why meeting them would be unusual.
“Some I can vote for, like the modern Secretary of Agriculture or [Secretary of State nominee and Florida Sen.] Marco Rubio or representative [Elise] Stefanika and maybe there are others that I won’t do,” Fetterman said. “But whoever I vote for [for]it will be a conscious choice. And I consider it doing my job. I don’t find it controversial.”
On Saturday, Fetterman told reporters he was willing to work with Rollins on the Farm Bill over a year overdueas a committee member and advocate for the Pennsylvania farming community.
December 21st President Joe Biden signed a one-year extension to the Farm Bill to avoid a government shutdown.
The main sticking point for Democrats in negotiations on next year’s five-year Farm Bill is securing funds for the Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Fetterman said farm bill priorities will change with a modern Republican administration and a GOP majority in Congress, but he remains committed to protecting SNAP.
“I’ve always been opposed, we can’t under any circumstances agree to discontinue SNAP or go after, you know, hungry Americans,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman of Pa. and U.S. Senate Democrats are asking USDA for answers about changes to the SNAP program
He expressed hope that Republicans in Congress would not target SNAP in the final bill. “But… I will always be the same, consistent voice to not attack hungry Americans.”
“Immigration is one of our superpowers”
Republicans do he fought publicly on social media in recent weeks over H-1B visa programwhich enables employers to employ highly qualified workers from abroad. Fetterman noted that his wife Gisele grew up undocumented and stated that immigration is one of America’s “superpowers.”
“Without immigration, I wouldn’t have the family I had,” he said.
Fetterman said immigration would be a major issue in the next administration and made sure to pay attention to it Trump said he supports the “Dreamers” staying in the United States and that she hopes to work with him on this issue while expressing support for security at the U.S. southern border.
“So immigration has been incredibly divisive, and I can’t agree with that rhetoric, but I definitely support that we need a secure border,” Fetterman said. “If you are an immigration supporter like me, I have consistently maintained that we need an absolutely secure border.”
In 2024, Democrats and Republicans reached a bipartisan agreement on border security until Trump announced his opposition to the bill, which later failed.
Fetterman expressed disappointment that the bill didn’t make it to the finish line, but he expects to support immigration legislation in the modern session.
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