U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle calls John Fetterman ‘Trump’s favorite Democrat’ for breaking with party on shutdown vote

Sen. John Fetterman’s plan to vote for the Republicans’ budget bill in hopes of averting a shutdown is angering a fellow Pennsylvania Democrat.

“John Fetterman is Donald Trump’s favorite Democrat,” U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, who represents Philadelphia, said Monday evening in an interview with The Inquirer.

“Ninety-nine percent of Democrats on Capitol Hill, however, view the situation very differently from John Fetterman.”

With the government set to go into shutdown early Wednesday without new funding, tensions are high in Washington as both parties remain in a standoff with the clock ticking.

Democrats, hoping to use the moment to peel back cuts to Medicaid and extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, appear more unified than they were the last time Congress was enmeshed in a budget fight — with the exception of Fetterman.

Fetterman, an outspoken critic of shutdowns, was the only Democratic senator who voted for the GOP continuing resolution to fund the government earlier this month. Both that measure, and a Democratic plan, which he also voted for, did not pass.

He said Sunday he’ll back the GOP plan again when it comes up for a vote Tuesday, in hopes of avoiding a shutdown. Funding bills need at least 60 votes to pass in the Senate, so Republicans would need at least seven Democrats to vote for it if every Republican supports the proposal.

“I’m at, where I have always been, and I will always remain on is, it is always, always wrong to shut our government down,” Fetterman said on Fox News Sunday morning. “That is a core responsibility. I’m always going to vote against those things. And if it’s the Republican side or now it’s our side, I’m going to condemn it.”

Boyle, the ranking member of the Budget committee in the House, is aligned with party leaders who are urging Democrats to use the moment as leverage to preserve health coverage for millions of Americans who will lose it if ACA subsidies are not extended and Medicaid cuts aren’t rolled back.

Boyle stressed that he thinks the moment is his party’s “last, best chance” to undo some of the healthcare cuts that could start costing Pennsylvanians.

“There is no question that the fight to save our healthcare is right here, right now, and fortunately, as evidenced by the recent House vote, 99% of House Democrats agree with what I’m saying. This is, in the end, about the healthcare of people of Pennsylvania and the American people,” Boyle said.

“Unfortunately, it appears as if John Fetterman is the only Democrat on Capitol Hill that is doing Donald Trump’s bidding for him.”

Fetterman did not respond to a request for comment.

He said on X earlier this month that he “enthusiastically” supported extending the ACA tax credits, but “I’ll never vote to shut our government down over that or any reason. It’s a core responsibility of Congress to maintain a functioning government, and I refuse to hold it as hostage.”

The senator is well known by now for going against his party, and Boyle criticized him earlier this summer after Fetterman lamented missing a family beach trip during a vote-a-rama for President Donald Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill.’

“If you are here, you are damned lucky and privileged to be here. You should want to be here, and if you don’t want to be here, leave,” Boyle said in an interview with The Bulwark about the remark.

Fetterman is not up for reelection until 2028, but the backlash he’s faced within the party has already spurred speculation about a potential primary challenge.

Boyle, who has represented Philadelphia since 2015, considered a run for Senate in 2022 but opted to remain in the House.

For Democrats in the current budget stalemate, healthcare has become the rallying call. Pennsylvania residents who buy Obamacare health plans could see their insurance costs rise an average of 82% next year if Congress does not renew a financial incentive program set to expire at the end of the year.

Republicans have said it’s an issue for later, without a promise to extend the credits. Both sides think the other will be blamed for a shutdown.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat who represents Montgomery County and sits on the House Appropriations Committee, declined to comment on Fetterman, who she called a friend. “His vote is his own, but I won’t be voting in that direction,” she said Monday evening in an interview with The Inquirer.

She rejected the idea that Democrats back down to avoid a shutdown, noting how little Republicans have been willing to work with her party.

“What in God’s name would we back down to?” Dean said. “Even less for my constituents? Fewer of them having access to rural hospitals and care? Fewer having access to treatment for addiction and the joy of recovery through Medicaid support? Are you kidding me?”