Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) \u201cnever\u201d spoke with him about the ongoing government shutdown, adding that \u201cno one really knows\u201d who is leading Democrats in Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fetterman made the remarks during an appearance on Fox & Friends, responding to an Axios report that Schumer had privately urged a group of moderate Democrats in mid-October to keep the government closed until at least the start of the Affordable Care Act open enrollment on Nov. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was not in a conversation or I never got any outreach,\u201d said Fetterman, adding that \u201ceveryone understood\u201d his position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really kind of led the charge [to keep the government open] back in March. And then I said, \u2018I know we\u2019ll be back in September.\u2019 And I said, \u2018I know where my vote will be then, too.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fetterman was among eight Democrats and Democrat-aligned independents who voted Monday night to reopen the federal government following the longest shutdown in U.S. history, doing so without securing any Republican concessions on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies beyond the end of the year,\u00a0the New York Post reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s always a hard yes to keep our government open,\u201d he explained Tuesday during his Fox appearance. \u201cI mean, that\u2019s my principle, because it\u2019s wrong to shut our government down. And now we knew that we would put [at risk] those 42 million Americans for SNAP and paying our military and, you know, the Capitol Police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean, people have went five weeks without being paid. I mean, that\u2019s a violation of my core values. And I think it\u2019s [a violation of] our party\u2019s [values] as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He openly blasted his fellow Democrats for turning the shutdown into a political stunt, calling it an \u201cabsolute failure\u201d and reminding them that \u201cAmericans are not leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked by co-host Lawrence Jones: \u201cWho is running the show now in the Democratic Party, in the Senate, in the House?\u201d, the Pennsylvanian made a frank and stunning admission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo one really knows,\u201d Fetterman responded. \u201cMy values are reflected in my vote and the things that I support here, and if that might put me at odds with parts of my party, I\u2019m okay with that. I mean, we need to be a \u2026 big tent party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n