Despite promising during his 2022 campaign to work to eliminate the filibuster, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman has backtracked, saying both his and the broader Democratic Party's stance on the issue was "horribly wrong."
During his 2022 Senate race, the Allegheny County Democrat campaigned to eliminate the filibuster
and criticized several then-Democrats who voted with Republicans to delay progressives from enacting legislation.In a July 28 column published by the Washington Post, Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, explained his flip-flop, saying his perspective changed with the belief that the filibuster is necessary to protect the minority voice.
Fetterman, Democrats 'horribly wrong' on eliminating filibuster
In his July 28 column, Fetterman said that while he supported Democrats' efforts to end the filibuster during
Joe Biden's presidency, as he thought doing so was key to delivering for working families and that Republicans in the minority were unlikely to find common ground on Democratic-led legislation, he and other Democrats were "horribly wrong" on the issue.
"Upon reflection, the pursuit of those short-term wins clouded the bigger picture and lasting impact of a Senate without the filibuster — a Senate that ignored the voices of the minority and everyday people," Fetterman said.
Now, Fetterman sees the filibuster as a "critical line of defense that prevents President Donald Trump from having a fill-in-the-blank government with new laws, deregulation or procedures of its choosing," he said, adding that the filibuster rather than the efforts of Democrats has been what's stopped unpopular policies from being passed.
"Trump’s victory and Republicans taking control of both chambers of Congress quickly showed how chaotic a simple majority vote could be in the Senate," Fetterman said. "Media outlets and political pundits are routinely alarmed and outraged over the constant churn of new policies from the current administration. And if Americans are horrified now, imagine what could be law today if Democrats had eliminated the filibuster."
Fetterman added that, if Democrats take control of the Senate in the midterms, they'll need to choose to find common ground with Republicans or else "the filibuster will force us to."
"We will need to abandon our worst impulses as a party and work together to find solutions to the problems Americans face," Fetterman said.
Fetterman addresses filibuster concerns with Katie Miller
Fetterman expressed similar feelings on the filibuster during a June 2 appearance on The Katie Miller Podcast, when he said Democrats shouldn't have tried to eliminate the filibuster under Biden and that he regretted running on the issue, according to The Hill.
"One thing I was absolutely wrong on — and I’ve been really … very open talking about how wrong I am — is that in my cycle, in ’22, we were running to eliminate the filibuster," Fetterman said to podcast host Katie Miller, wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. "And we were so wrong, so wrong about that."
He raised concerns about losing the voice of the minority if the filibuster were to be eliminated.
"We have the risk of if we lose the filibuster, then the rights of the minority — whether that will be Democrat or Republican minority — would have effectively little to no voice," Fetterman said. "And if we become a smaller version of the House, that would have profound ramifications for the United States, and that would be dangerous."
Fetterman campaigned on ending the filibuster
Fetterman addressed the topic as a key issue on his campaign website, which was still up as of July 28.
"Last year, I became one of the first candidates in the country to call for abolishing the filibuster for a reason: it stands in the way of getting things done for Pennyslvanians," he said on his website, adding that he planned to address other issues through pushing for expanding voting rights, working for reforms to get corporations out of politics and stopping gerrymandering.
"We must do everything we can to maintain and protect our democracy," he said.
The year of his election, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Arizona, and Joe Manchin, I-West Virginia — both former Democrats — joined Republicans in a vote to keep the filibuster going, stopping Democrats from enacting legislation backed by their constituents.
At the time, Fetterman opposed their efforts. But in his July 28 column, he said "history has vindicated" the two senators, adding that the two "were vilified by the Democratic Party for their support of the filibuster and whose courageous efforts damaged their political careers."
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network.Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US Sen. John Fetterman backs filibuster despite campaigning to end it
