Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has sharply criticized Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), accusing him of endangering tens of millions of Americans amid the standoff between Republicans and Democrats over healthcare subsidies and the recent government shutdown.
The remarks came shortly before Fetterman was rushed to a Pennsylvania hospital on Thursday.
The senator remains hospitalized in Pittsburgh after suffering a fall caused by a ventricular fibrillation flare-up.
Podcast host Katie Couric pressed Fetterman on comments from Sanders.
Sanders claimed Democrats, including Fetterman, who voted with Republicans to reopen the government, were paving “the way for 15 million people to be thrown off of Medicaid” and risking sharply higher premiums for millions more.
“Well, you know, Bernie should answer why he’s OK with putting 42 million Americans to face mass food insecurity, or he can explain to the military why it’s OK not to pay them and the tens of millions of Americans that are going to be flying and are flying,” Fetterman responded.
Eight Senate Democrats broke with party leadership to approve a House-passed continuing resolution (CR) on Sunday night.
President Donald Trump signed the measure on Wednesday, ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The impasse stemmed from disputes over healthcare provisions tied to government funding.
Trump and Republicans argued Democrats sought to provide illegal immigrants healthcare coverage, pointing in particular to a provision repealing part of Trump’s tax and domestic policy package, referred to by the president as the “big, beautiful bill,” that reduced Medicaid eligibility for non-U.S. citizens.
Democrats countered that their goal was to permanently extend Affordable Care Act subsidies scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
The stopgap bill Trump signed does not extend those subsidies, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) agreed to hold a December vote on legislation to continue the credits.
Defending the Democrats who voted for the CR, including himself, Fetterman acknowledged he shares “some of those priorities to extend those tax credits,” but said he and Sanders operate with a “different tactic.”
He argued there was “no guarantee” of securing ACA funding because “it’s all going to come down to Trump, and he really has the ability to just change everything.”
Fetterman dismissed suggestions that Sanders’ preferred path offered a “simple” solution.
“For me, that’s a risk I refuse to take,” he said.
“And for them, they have a different view.
“But I think, for a committed Democrat, I think our party should accommodate that.”
WATCH:
After Sunday’s vote, Sanders blasted the eight Democrats who joined Republicans, calling it a “very, very bad vote.”
“Tonight, eight Democrats voted with the Republicans to allow them to go forward on this continuing resolution,” Sanders said in a video posted on X.
“And to my mind, this was a very, very bad vote.”
He argued the measure “raises healthcare premiums for over 20 million Americans by doubling, and in some cases tripling or quadrupling them.”
Sanders also claimed “it paves the way for 15 million people to be thrown off of Medicaid,” adding that “studies show that will mean some 50,000 Americans will die every year unnecessarily.”
All of this comes as Fetterman remains under medical observation after his office confirmed he experienced a ventricular fibrillation flare-up during an early-morning walk near his Braddock home, causing him to fall and suffer minor facial injuries.
According to his office, he is staying in the hospital so doctors can “fine-tune his medication regimen.”
READ MORE – Fetterman: ‘Elitist’ Democrats Have ‘Lost Touch’ with Working Class Americans
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