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Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman sharply criticized fellow Senate Democrats on Thursday for their stance against a government spending bill, potentially risking a partial shutdown.
Taking to X, Fetterman denounced his party’s opposition as “total theater” and stressed the critical need to maintain government funding to prevent economic downturn. His statements directly contradicted Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s assertion of party unity against the Republican spending proposal.
Without support from at least eight Democratic senators joining Republicans to pass the House GOP stopgap spending bill, the government faces a partial shutdown after midnight on Friday.
“Shut the government down, plunge the country into chaos, risk a recession or Exchange cloture for a 30-day CR that 100% fails,” Fetterman wrote. “The House GOP CR will then pass the Senate because it only needs 51 votes. Total theater is neither honest with constituents nor a winning argument.”
NEW: John Fetterman tells Fox News he would vote with the GOP to avoid a shutdown:
Fetterman: If we vote to close it to claim to protect the government, that’s like burning down the village to save it. pic.twitter.com/bPJ2KlA8A3
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) March 12, 2025
This internal Democratic criticism emerges as Republicans label the potential shutdown the “Schumer Shutdown.” Republican Senator Ted Cruz told the Daily Caller News Foundation Wednesday, “The Democrats are engaged in performance art because they’re having a full-on psychological crisis.”
The Democratic Party faces additional challenges with declining Senate approval ratings and Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s retirement announcement, creating an opportunity for Republicans to expand their 53-47 majority in 2026.
Schumer maintains Democratic opposition to the Republican funding bill, advocating instead for a Democratic-drafted 30-day extension. “Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their [continuing resolution] without any input — any input — from congressional Democrats,” Schumer stated Wednesday. “Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR.”
Dolly Note: This party is mentally deranged.
According to Fetterman, "Any party should never shut the government down." The Pennsylvania Democrat further criticized his colleagues, recalling, "It wasn't that long ago before we were lecturing that you can never shut the… pic.twitter.com/OzxSTYjdVL
— Dolly_World (@dolly_note) March 13, 2025
“Our caucus is unified on a clean [CR through April 11] that will keep the government open and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass,” he added.
Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito responded on Bloomberg TV, stating, “If the Democrats here in the Senate do not join us as Republicans to pass something along that nature, they will be shutting down the government. We know that’s a road to nowhere, a disservice to every American … We should have dealt with this last year, but Senator Schumer did not even pick up one of our appropriations bills that we passed last year.”
Fetterman has committed to supporting the continuing resolution, emphasizing the importance of preventing federal worker furloughs and economic instability. The House narrowly passed the Trump-supported CR with a 217-213 vote, with Maine Democrat Jared Golden as the sole Democratic supporter.
