Markwayne Mullin confirmed to replace Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary
The Senate, with the help of two Democrats, confirmed Markwayn Mullin to replace Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security.
- Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is facing criticism from Democratic voters for breaking with his party on several key issues.
- Fetterman, who once campaigned against centrist Democrats, has seen his popularity rise among Republicans and decline along with Democrats.
- Some political analysts and party members are questioning whether Fetterman can be re-elected in 2028 or if he will choose to run again.
Throughout his 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, John Fetterman frequently attacked on social media one of the few centrist Senate Democrats with a history of defeating the party’s ranks.
Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, then announced himself as the anti-Joe Manchin, anti-Kyrsten Sinema candidate, giving Democrats a guaranteed 51st vote in the Senate.
Mr. Fetterman, oversized and tattooed and wearing a hoodie and shorts, overcame Dr. Mehmet Oz’s celebrity status and a near-fatal stroke to become the only Democrat to flip a Republican Senate seat during that cycle.
Four years later, the former Braddock mayor finds himself filling the role he once lamented.
And a lot of people who voted for him are paying attention.
“Overall, we feel abandoned,” said Frieda Toepfer, D-Erie, Pennsylvania. “Most of us feel that way. We feel unrepresented.
“We are extremely disappointed in Mr. Fetterman,” she said. “He certainly hasn’t made himself known to the people in the district. I think the people who expected him to be a progressive had too many expectations of who he was.”
Various voter groups plan to gather at five of Mr. Fetterman’s offices in Pennsylvania on March 30th to air their grievances. Events are planned in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre and Erie.
Toepfer organized Ellie’s event through the local chapter of 50501, which has been organizing “No Kings” protests across the country.
“We’re going to be there with signs, and people are going to come in and talk to the officials and tell them how they feel,” Toepfer said of the Erie event, which begins at noon outside the Erie County Courthouse.
Fetterman’s office did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
Pennsylvania Democratic Party slams Fetterman
Mr. Fetterman, 56, has roiled his party over votes to reopen the federal government, including when he supported a continuing resolution in November and in February when he supported funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which remains shut down amid budget battles.
He is an ardent supporter of Israel in its attack on Palestine in the Gaza Strip, and has recently supported Israel and the Trump administration’s war with Iran.
He also supported Trump’s crackdown on deportations, and in March was the vote on the committee that advanced the nomination of fellow Sen. Markwayne Mullin to head the Department of Homeland Security.
U.S. Representative Brendan Boyle, who has become one of Fetterman’s biggest critics, called for his removal.
After the committee’s vote against Mullin, Boyle wrote to X that “Sen Fetterman once again shows why he is Trump’s favorite Democrat.” “He has to go.”
Hours later, at a town hall meeting in Carlisle, U.S. Rep. Christine Houlahan again sharply criticized her fellow Democrats.
“We have these senators. There are actually two of them,” Houlahan said, as reported by Keystone. “And I have to be really honest: Of the two, I have more success working on the ‘R side of the aisle’ than I have on the ‘D side of the aisle.'”
“I’ll be punished for being a Democrat.”
Mr. Fetterman has been as vocal about his position within the party as his critics. On a recent episode of the podcast “All In,” he said Democratic leaders are plagued by “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” a disease that President Trump invented to deflect criticism.
“Our party is governed by TDS,” Fetterman said. “This made it virtually impossible for you to agree that something is good or agree with the other side without being punished as a Democrat.”
Appearing on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Fetterman discussed his fitness for office and accused Maher of, in his words, “crazy.”
“Part of the party just wants to turn me into Colonel Kurtz,” Mr. Fetterman told Mr. Maher, referring to the main antagonist in the 1979 film “Apocalypse Now,” played by Marlon Brando.
“People are really upset about some of the positions he’s taken.”
Questions about Fetterman’s political loyalties arose after he visited President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, ahead of Trump’s 2025 inauguration. This foreshadowed a much more cozy relationship between Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Trump, and his MAGA base than most Democrats expected.
In Erie County, where Fetterman chose to resume his 2022 campaign after suffering a stroke, Democratic Party Chairman Sam Talarico said he has filed numerous complaints.
“It’s definitely been an upturn, but it’s hard to explain,” Talarico said, noting that he couldn’t recall whether Fetterman had appeared on Erie since taking over. “And it’s hard to explain because he can barely get a job anymore. Being a civil servant is not a good thing.”
A Quinnipiac University poll of 836 self-identified registered voters conducted between February 19 and 23 found that Fetterman’s approval rating remained at 46%, but only with 73% of Republicans, 48% of independents, and 22% of Democrats.
Fetterman told News Nation’s Chris Cuomo on March 25 that he was “perplexed” by the Republican’s support, given that he has voted against some of Trump’s key priorities, including his spending plan known as the “Big Beautiful Act” and the SAVE Act.
Fetterman, who voted to confirm former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, also noted that he also called for her removal.
Talarico said he’s trying to stay positive.
“I remind people that there’s still good in there, that he’s still in talks with the Democrats and voting our way the majority of the time, but we’d like to see a little more of that,” Talarico said. “That’s a good thing. People are really angry about some of the positions he’s taken, especially on the war. It’s hard to find people in the Democratic Party who really support a war on Iran, but Fetterman supports it.”
Toepfer also said Fetterman is better than Republican Sen. Dave McCormick and Oz, whom President Trump nominated to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In 2022, he supported state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta in the Democratic primary.
She said she can’t imagine Fetterman being able to win the party’s support when he’s re-elected in 2028.
“If he has to finish his term, it would be in his best interest to leave gracefully,” she said. “I don’t know how he could think of running again.”
Will Fetterman choose to run again?
Robert Spiel, a political science professor at Penn State’s Behrend campus in Erie County, blamed Fetterman’s departure from the party on health.
“A lot of people don’t seem to want to say anything about this, but he’s had two health crises in the last five years that can change people,” Fetterman said of his 2022 stroke and fall from atrial fibrillation.
Unless Fetterman makes a major change of direction or Pennsylvania expands its closed primary system, Mr. Fetterman is unlikely to be elected again, including as an independent or Republican, Spiel said.
Spiel recalled that Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party in 2009. Polls showed Mr. Specter trailing his eventual successor, Pat Toomey, in the 2010 Republican primary. But he also failed to convince Democrats to choose him over then-U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak.
“I think he can try as an independent,” Spiel said. “However, in recent decades, those who have abandoned their parties and run for parliamentary elections as independents have had little success.”
A rare exception is Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who, like Specter, faced a revolt from her party in 2010. The Republican incumbent lost to Tea Party candidate Joe Miller in the Republican primary that year, but made history as a write-in candidate in the general election, defeating both Miller and Democratic candidate Scott McAdams. This is the first time since 1954 that a write-in candidate won a Senate seat.
The names of potential primary challengers to Fetterman in 2028 have surfaced in recent months. According to various reports, these include Boyle and former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, the runner-up in the 2022 Democratic primary.
Spiel noted that Fetterman hasn’t had many friends within the party throughout his political career, so it’s not surprising that Democratic leaders would speak out against him.
But Talarico wonders if Fetterman wants another term.
“I don’t even know if he’s going to run for another term,” he said. “He doesn’t seem to like the job very much, which is understandable, because it’s hard to get anything done.”
Matthew Link is a Pennsylvania investigative journalist for the USA TODAY Network.
