Fetterman talks ending government shutdown, new memoir on 'The View'

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, appeared on “The View” on Tuesday, where he discussed the recent deal that Senate Democrats made with Republicans to end an extended federal government shutdown.

Fetterman, who was elected to the Senate in 2022, was one of eight Democrats who voted “yes” on a deal with Republicans on Monday that would end the now-42-day shutdown. The House of Representatives is expected to convene Wednesday to vote on the deal.

Fetterman joined the show live from Washington, D.C. Host Alyssa Farrah Griffin pointed out that Fetterman was critical of the shutdown from the get-go.

“This all went back to March. I effectively led the charge that it’s wrong to shut our government down,” Fetterman said. “When you’re confronting mass chaos, I don’t think you should respond with more chaos or fight with more chaos. We need to be the party of order and logic. … I refuse to weaponize the SNAP benefit for 42 million Americans.”

“A Democratic Party has to respond that we have to have the ability to agree to disagree on some of these core issues. … Under this shutdown, no one was getting anything.”

Fetterman pointed out that the shutdown jeopardized pay for federal workers, airline safety and payment for the military.

“I hope we could all agree that chaos is the wrong response for the kinds of chaos that our nation has been in after the president’s re-election,” he said.

Griffin asked whether Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is the right leader for Democrats.

“That’s not really my concern right now,” Fetterman said. “It’s not a leadership situation. We are living in the backlash of the election. It’s been effectively a year now. America decided to put us in the minority. In terms of leadership right now, what defines leadership for me, that’s order and logic. … We were all energized by the election just last week. For me, it’s like, hey, let’s take the win on that. Now we know there’s a lot of backlash to this kind of chaos.

“Voters are going to respond to more order and the more kinds of not violating our core values to plunge our country into chaos,” he added.

Fetterman pointed out that Pennsylvania is the most important “purple state” in the country, saying that he’s voted with Democrats 90% of the time and still receives criticism for not toeing the party line.

The hosts pointed out criticism of Republicans on the shutdown from both sides of the aisle, including from Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga.

“MTG is quite literally the last person in America I’m going to take advice or get my kind of leadership values from,” Fetterman said. “If the Democrats are celebrating crazy pants like that, that’s on them. I don’t need a lecture, whether it’s Bernie (Sanders) or the governor of California. They’re representing very deep blue populations. A lot of those things are part of the extreme.”

The former Braddock mayor and Pennsylvania lieutenant governor is having a busy week. His new memoir, “Unfettered,” was released Tuesday. According to Penguin Random House, the book follows Fetterman through his first run for office through his run for Senate, including the details of the stroke that threatened to end his campaign and the deep depression that followed his election to the Senate.

Host Ana Navarro asked Fetterman why he wanted to tell his story.

“I think it’s an important conversation to have,” Fetterman said. “After winning the biggest election in my cycle, that’s when depression really took control in my life. The really bad part of depression is the conversation you really start to have with yourself to take yourself out.”

He discussed how important it is on Veterans Day, especially to discuss the suicide rates among veterans and the mental health resources that are available to them.

“My emergency brake was my kids,” he said. “That saved my life.”

“For me, I’m going to continue to have this conversation as long as people are willing to hear it.”

He said that he dedicated the book to all of the people who might be having that struggle.

Deluzio on ‘The Daily Show’

Pittsburgh-area U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, shared his thoughts on the shutdown deal with a Monday night appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” along with U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y. Deluzio was less than happy with his party’s leadership.

“This is what we’ve come to expect from this leadership and from what the Senate’s been doing. They did not stand their ground. … I think it’s a bad deal. I think it’s weak,” Deluzio said. “I don’t know any constituents of ours that want us to just wilt. They want us to stand our ground.”