Democratic colleagues in Pennsylvania are openly calling Sen. John Fetterman a "disgrace" and vowing a 2028 primary challenge after a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed leaked text messages showing the senator dismissing meetings with a children's hospital and skipping a funeral for slain police officers.
The backlash landed fast. Rep. Chris Deluzio, a fellow Pennsylvania Democrat, posted on X that the report confirmed "something we already know: this man has no sense of duty." Rep. Brendan Boyle, also a Pennsylvania Democrat, called Fetterman "a disgrace" and said the state "deserves better than a lazy trust fund baby who is too lazy to do the job." Malcolm Kenyatta, a Pennsylvania state representative who serves as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Fetterman "barely showed up" as lieutenant governor and "is constantly MIA as our senator."
The trigger was a Wall Street Journal report built on leaked text messages between Fetterman and his aides. Those messages paint a picture of a senator who treats core duties, constituent meetings, public appearances, legislative engagement, as inconveniences to be avoided.
In one exchange, an aide told Fetterman that representatives from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia wanted to meet with him about concerns over Medicaid cuts and vaccines. Fetterman's reply, per the leaked texts: "Well, I'm not. I'm convinced they just want free trips to D.C." CHOP is one of the nation's most prominent pediatric medical institutions, and Medicaid funding is a bread-and-butter issue for any senator representing Pennsylvania's working families.
In another exchange, an aide informed Fetterman about a funeral for three police officers killed in Pennsylvania, noting the dress code and a three-hour expected duration. Fetterman texted back: "This may be a nonstarter."
A senator who cannot be bothered to attend the funeral of officers who died in the line of duty, because it might take too long, is not a senator who takes the job seriously. His own party members are now saying so publicly.
The statements from Fetterman's Democratic colleagues were not vague expressions of disappointment. They were declarations of political intent. Fox News Digital reported that Deluzio, Boyle, and Kenyatta each used the leaked texts as a launching point to call for Fetterman's removal from office through a 2028 primary challenge.
Deluzio's full statement went further than the headline. He cited "laziness, disrespect, and willingness to carry water for a foreign government", a reference to Fetterman's outspoken support for Israel, which has become a fault line within the Democratic Party.
"He is not up for the high office he was elected to, and we in Pennsylvania will do something about it in 2028."
Kenyatta's post struck a similar chord, accusing Fetterman of spending his time "on FOX cheerleading Trump & endless wars" rather than serving constituents. "2028 can't come soon enough," he wrote.
Fetterman did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. He did, however, tell NBC News that he has "no intentions of joining the Republican Party." The Wall Street Journal report described him as "a politician more interested in appearing on Fox News to discuss Israel than meeting with paralyzed veterans from his state."
Fetterman won his Senate seat in 2022 running as a progressive populist. He campaigned on universal healthcare, pro-labor policies, and higher taxes on the wealthy. He backed Sen. Bernie Sanders early in Sanders' presidential campaigns. His brand was built on being the hoodie-wearing, working-class fighter who would shake up Washington.
That brand has disintegrated. Fetterman sided with Republicans during a government shutdown fight in 2025 while Democrats stayed unified in a push to renew expiring Obamacare tax credits. He voted to confirm Markwayne Mullin as Department of Homeland Security secretary, a Trump nominee, though he voted against confirming Dr. Mehmet Oz, his 2022 opponent, who now runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
His reversal on the filibuster has been equally striking. After running in 2022 on eliminating it, Fetterman later called that position "horribly wrong."
On foreign policy, Fetterman has broken with his party repeatedly. He has been one of the most vocal Democratic supporters of Israel, a stance that has drawn fury from the progressive base. He told Newsmax that he would leave the Democratic Party if it officially becomes "the anti-Israel party," calling it "a matter of moral clarity."
Fetterman has also broken ranks on Iran war powers, siding against his own caucus on a resolution that fell one vote short.
A Breitbart report noted that Senate Majority Leader John Thune publicly said Republicans would "welcome" Fetterman into their conference. A Quinnipiac poll found 52 percent of Pennsylvania voters want Fetterman to leave the Democratic Party entirely. Fetterman himself has mused publicly about whether Democrats still want him, telling reporters: "If the Democratic caucus doesn't want me, they could just let me know."
Fetterman has pushed back against the party-switch speculation. He told Politico directly: "I'm a Democrat, and I'm staying one." National Review's analysis noted that despite being called "Trump's top Democratic supporter in the U.S. Senate" in 2025, Fetterman voted with the Trump administration only 26 percent of the time. He still holds standard Democratic positions on taxes, the minimum wage, unions, abortion, and DACA, and voted against the Big Beautiful Bill.
But voting records do not capture the full picture. The leaked texts suggest a senator who has checked out of the daily grind of the job, the constituent meetings, the funerals, the grunt work of representation. That is a different problem than ideology. It is a question of whether Fetterman takes the office seriously at all.
Former Sen. Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party in 2024, has publicly urged Fetterman to follow his path and go independent. "Trust me, set yourself free and become an independent. It's liberating," Manchin told the Washington Examiner.
Fetterman has acknowledged the anger from his base. "Parts of my base are really angry with me, which is really strange," he told the New York Post. Top Pennsylvania Democrats, including former Rep. Conor Lamb, are reportedly maneuvering to mount a primary challenge in 2028.
Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leadership has been pleading with Fetterman to stay in the fold, a sign of how precarious the situation has become for a caucus that cannot afford to lose a single seat.
The ideological drift is one thing. Plenty of senators break with their party on individual votes. What the Wall Street Journal texts expose is something harder to defend: a pattern of treating the basic obligations of the office, showing up, listening to constituents, honoring public servants, as burdens not worth his time.
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia wanted to talk about Medicaid cuts that could affect sick kids. Fetterman dismissed the meeting as a junket. Three police officers were buried after dying in the line of duty. Fetterman called the funeral "a nonstarter" because of the dress code and the time commitment.
Fetterman ran in 2022 as a man of the people, someone who would fight for working Pennsylvanians against an out-of-touch establishment. His own colleagues now say he became the thing he ran against. And his pattern of aligning with Trump on issues from AI policy to military strikes has only deepened the rift.
Democrats sent Fetterman to Washington to do a job. The leaked texts suggest he decided the job was beneath him. His party is finally noticing, and Pennsylvania voters will have their say in 2028.