Fetterman Tells Democrats To ‘Cut The Sh*t’ After His Colleagues Tanked Bill To Pay Troops

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is offering blunt advice for his party during the shutdown that’s been ongoing for 23 days: “Cut the shit” and reopen the government.

Fetterman ripped into Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decision to block legislation paying essential federal workers and U.S. service members during the shutdown on Thursday. The Pennsylvania Democrat has become increasingly critical of his party’s shutdown strategy as the funding lapse’s pain becomes more visible to Americans.

“Just open up the whole thing and just cut the shit,” Fetterman told reporters on Thursday following the failed vote to ensure millions of federal employees do not miss their salaries at the start of the new pay period on Friday. “I don’t care about who’s winning, who’s losing, who’s going to blink.”

“America loses,” Fetterman added.

Fetterman was one of three Democrats to support GOP-authored legislation to pay federal employees reporting to work during the shutdown and military personnel. The bill failed to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold due to the majority of Democrats’ opposition.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps feed more than 40 million Americans and its funding is set to expire on Nov. 1 barring new appropriations. More than 25 states, including Pennsylvania, are warning they will freeze benefits by that date if the shutdown stretches on.

“And now people are like, where’s our SNAP? Hey, where’s our food coming from?” Fetterman also said. “That’s not a political game.”

Senate Democrats, however, show no signs of relenting from their hardball tactics. Schumer has led nearly all Democratic lawmakers — notably not including Fetterman — in filibustering bipartisan legislation to reopen the government a dozen times.

Democrats have thus far remained adamant that any government funding deal must include an extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies as well as various partisan policy demands.

Fetterman, however, is in agreement with Republicans that policies unrelated to government funding should be debated once the shutdown ends.

“Two million Pennsylvanians depend on SNAP and over 400,000 Pennsylvanians use those tax credits to make health insurance more affordable,” Fetterman said. “I’m willing to bet that Venn diagram is essentially a circle, and that’s a double whammy for people.”

“That is the Democrats’ Sophie’s Choice. Hungry people, and health insurance,” Fetterman continued, using a common expression for an incredibly difficult decision. “I want them both, but I just strongly disagree of what’s the appropriate tactic.”

A majority of Democrats explained their objection by arguing the measure empowered President Donald Trump and did not ensure all federal workers get paid during the shutdown.

“If you allow them to decide who they’re going to keep on the job in the federal government and who they’re going to pay, you’re giving them also a blank check as to who they’re going to send home and who they’re going to punish by not paying,” Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said on the Senate floor Thursday. “If you just let them decide who’s going to get paid and who’s not, you weaponize that illegality, you weaponize the federal government.”

GOP lawmakers countered that Democrats are seeking to use unpaid federal workers in the funding fight as “leverage” to enact policy concessions from Republicans.

The Senate is expected to vote on legislation introduced by Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz next week that would pay workers at airports during the shutdown. A similar debate over whether to pay federal workers and troops during the government shutdown is likely to be repeated before the standoff comes to an end.