HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman and his Republican colleague, Senator Dave McCormick, emphasized their friendship in a feature article published Thursday.
The lawmakers said in interviews with NOTUS, a political news outlet, that they appreciate each other’s primary interest in representing their politically diverse state.
“We’re very, very good friends, and we get along, and we always try to find ways to work together,” Fetterman said. “Pennsylvania deserves that. And you know, we both realize that we don’t just represent our respective base. We represent all 13 million Pennsylvanians, and that’s why we find ways to work together.”
Fetterman and McCormick have contrasting policy beliefs, although they rarely attack each other’s opinions, as many other members of Congress do. The senators arrived at the Capitol through different paths – Fetterman was a mayor and lieutenant governor while McCormick was a hedge fund executive – but they highlight their respect for each other’s work.
“We look so much different, we have such different backgrounds, we’re from such different parties, we just have so many differences,” McCormick told NOTUS. “But we’re together on the most important thing, which is we trust each other, and we want to do good things for Pennsylvania.”
Bipartisanship, while more common in the Senate than in the House, has become unconventional in Congress. Lawmakers frequently attack each other’s policy opinions and personal characteristics to advance their interests.
On Wednesday, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz shared a social media post by House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, that accused Democrats of causing a woman’s death by not caring about crime. Democrats have also called Republicans callous for cutting social services in the name of reducing taxes.
Fetterman told NOTUS that he and McCormick have a policy of not “mudslinging” like some of their other colleagues do, a statement the Republican agrees with.
“I think he has very little appetite for, you know, the political nastiness and game playing,” McCormick said.
“I don’t have a lot of appetite for that either. I try to be very respectful, even when I disagree with people, so I give him a lot of credit. He’s been a real role model.”
The senators, under party leadership, are currently negotiating funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which has become a source of division among liberals and conservatives. The department’s ICE, in particular, has sparked intense protests that have received passionate pushback.
Fetterman reportedly described his work with McCormick as a way to bridge the gap for their state’s residents.
“A lot of the noise is coming from people from the extreme or the very deep red or blue states,” the Democrat told NOTUS. “We occupy a space in between where we have to find a way to remember that we are both Pennsylvania’s voice from different parties.”
