John Fetterman says he would ‘fully support’ U.S. troops in Gaza after Trump floats proposal
The Pennsylvania Democrat, a staunch defender of Israel, has shown a public openness to working with President Donald Trump.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has shown a public openness to working with President Donald Trump, reportedly said Tuesday that he would “fully support” a role for U.S. forces after Trump proposed a U.S. occupation of Gaza.
“The Palestinians have refused, or they’ve been unwilling, to deliver a government that provided security and economic development for themselves,” Fetterman said, according to a report from Jewish Insider. “They allowed 10/7 to occur, and now Gaza has to be rebuilt. Where are the people going to live? Where are they going to go? So it’s part of a conversation with where they’re at right now.”
Asked about the possibility of U.S. troops on the ground, Fetterman told Jewish Insider he did not know what their specific role would entail. “But they’re obviously a part of it, and I fully support,” said Fetterman, who was in Washington to vote as the lone Democrat in support of confirming Trump nominee Pam Bondi for attorney general.
During a news conference with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump proposed relocating displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza, and suggested the U.S. take “ownership” of the Gaza Strip. He also said he was not ruling out deploying U.S. troops to aid in the area’s redevelopment.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the Trump administration does not intend to pay for the reconstruction of Gaza and has not committed to sending U.S. troops there, multiple outlets reported.
According to the Washington Post, Leavitt told reporters that “the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort, to ensure stability in the region for all people. But that does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza. It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort.” Rather, Leavitt was reported as saying, Trump “is going to strike a deal with our partners in a region.”
Trump’s comments on Tuesday were met with some skepticism from many Republicans and distress from most Democrats. Fetterman, however, reportedly did not dismiss the idea.
A spokesperson for Fetterman could not be reached for comment.
A request for comment on the proposal from Pennsylvania’s Republican senator, Dave McCormick, was unanswered as of midday Wednesday.
Fetterman has been staunchly pro-Israel, and last year was presented with the “Defender of Israel” award from the Zionist Organization of America, which previously honored Trump.
And he has shown an openness to working with Trump. Last month, he became the first sitting Democratic senator to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence. But Fetterman also signed a resolution condemning Trump’s pardons of those who were convicted of assaulting the Capitol Police on Jan. 6, 2021. And he has maintained a pro-union position and reiterated his support for the right to choose an abortion.
However, as he explained early in January:
“I’m not just a Senator for Democrats—I’m a Senator for all Pennsylvanians,” he posted on X. ”It’s my job to find common ground and deliver results for everybody. And because nobody is my gatekeeper, I will meet with anyone to secure some wins, including President Trump.”
Small protest gathers at Fetterman’s Philly office to respond
Outside Fetterman’s office at Second and Chestnut Streets on Wednesday, a small group of about a dozen protesters gathered with the planned purpose of urging Fetterman to vote against Russell Vought, Trump’s nominee to direct the Office of Management and Budget.
(A second, larger protest of several hundred people that started at City Hall visited Fetterman’s office later in the afternoon.)
But Gaza was at the top of several people’s minds. ”Trump wants to take over Gaza and Fetterman said he’d consider that,” David Gibson told the group over a loudspeaker.
“Shame!” they yelled back.
Seth Gladding, a freshman at Haverford College, said Trump’s Gaza comments were the most concerning of a two-week slew of executive actions and presidential announcements that worried him. That a Democratic senator representing his state might be on board was even more worrisome to him.
“It’s a vision for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and all of Palestine, including [Trump’s] really heartless comments about removing them from their homes and putting words to putting U.S. troops on the ground there,” Gladding said.
But grievances against Fetterman ran the gamut and included frustration over his vote for Bondi for attorney general. Bondi, who was opposed by every other Democrat, was heavily involved in Trump’s failed effort in 2020 to overturn Pennsylvania’s election results.
“I’m so incredibly disappointed. I mean, what we need to do as Democrats right now is what Republicans did before — pull out all the stops — and instead, we’re still trying to reach across the aisle as everything’s falling apart and going up in flames,” said Diane Payne, 75, a retired kindergarten teacher from the Northeast.
Mitch Chanin, 50, a health-care worker from Northeast Philadelphia, said outside Fetterman’s office he felt “really disappointed and betrayed” by the politician for whom he campaigned.
“He seems to be reading the election results to mean that he should be caving into and coddling authoritarianism — billionaires, that’s not how I read the results of the election.”