Fetterman on speculation about party switch: 'Amateur-hour s‑‑‑'

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) attempted to squash questions that he was preparing to change parties after openly playing ball with President Trump and Capitol Hill Republicans.

The Pennsylvania senator told Semafor that talk about a potential flip to the GOP is “amateur-hour s‑‑‑.”

“If they think, 'Oh, it’s going to be like a Manchin or a Sinema play,' that’s just not true, and that’s not going to happen,” Fetterman said to the outlet on the evening of Trump’s inauguration, referring to former Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), who began their careers as Democrats but retired this year as Independents.

“It’s not going to happen. And even if I wanted to do that, this is a rocket sled to Palookaville to try and switch — I would make a pretty bad Republican.”

According to the outlet, he has stressed privately to Senate Democrats that his allegiance remains with the party.

Last week, The Hill reported that Fetterman's desire to work with Trump while other Democrats have been more cautious was drawing attention to his possible long-term goals. He’s received much criticism from progressives, who see him as abandoning the pitch he offered to voters after joining the Senate.

One Republican source in the state who has seen Fetterman’s rise up close, however, said he didn’t believe he would jump caucuses, and that his ability to keep both sides guessing is true to the political brand he’s developed in the battleground throughout his career.

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