Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s potential 2028 Democratic primary challengers aim to take advantage of a Wall Street Journal article accusing him of ignoring his job duties.
“John Fetterman is a disgrace. Our state deserves better than a lazy trust fund baby who is too lazy to do the job,” wrote Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has said he’s weighing his options two years from now.
The new Journal report, drawing on interviews with Mr. Fetterman’s former staffers, said he has “little interest in doing the job beyond cultivating relationships with conservative media figures and advocating for Israel.”
Mr. Fetterman suffered a stroke shortly before his election in 2022 and later spent time in the hospital for clinical depression during his tenure as senator.
The report includes excerpts of Mr. Fetterman’s text exchanges in which he turned down events, such as meeting with representatives of a children’s hospital and attending a funeral for three policemen.
It contrasts this reclusiveness with his enthusiasm for appearing on conservative media.
The unflattering coverage comes as polls consistently show Mr. Fetterman is more popular among Republicans than with Democrats.
Now, Rep. Chris Deluzio, Pennsylvania Democrat, says Mr. Fetterman is “not up for the high office he was elected to — and we in Pennsylvania will do something about it in 2028.”
In a social media post Friday in reaction to the report, Mr. Deluzio accused Mr. Fetterman of “laziness, disrespect, and willingness to carry water for a foreign government.”
Mr. Deluzio, who has been campaigning across the Keystone State to keep his seat in the midterms, has not ruled out running for the Senate in 2028.
Mr. Fetterman is an outspoken supporter of Israel and has said he would be willing to leave his party if it adopts an officially anti-Israel position.
The senator was elected with the support of hard-left liberals such as Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont. Yet Mr. Fetterman has since become alienated from his party by occasionally siding with Republicans.
He has voted for several of President Trump’s high-profile nominees and has consistently split with his party to back measures to fund the government.
Mr. Fetterman’s 2022 primary opponent, former Rep. Conor Lamb, also politically attacked him Friday.
“If there is a decent bone left in your body, just quit,” Mr. Lamb posted on X. “It’s an insult to decent people in our state for you to treat them and the office this way.”
Mr. Fetterman’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
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