A Wall Street Journal investigation has Pennsylvania Democrats turning on Sen. John Fetterman over skipped hearings, gamed attendance, and a canceled meeting with paralyzed veterans -- with some in his own party telling him to quit.
A Wall Street Journal investigation published Thursday is shaking Pennsylvania politics and turning Senator John Fetterman's own party against him, with fellow Democrats calling the lawmaker a disgrace and a former congressman telling him to quit. The report, based on interviews with more than a dozen former staffers and lawmakers along with internal records and messages, portrays a senator who skipped committee hearings, worked to game his attendance record, canceled on paralyzed veterans, and repeatedly brushed aside constituents from his home state. The fallout lands roughly two months before the midterms, handing Pennsylvania voters an unflattering look at how one of the state's most recognizable Democrats has been approaching the job.
Fetterman, who was elected to the Senate in 2022 and is next up for reelection in 2028, dismissed the investigation as a collection of smears and half-truths. But the criticism is not coming from conservatives. It is coming from members of his own party, including Democrats who represent Pennsylvania in the House and have defended him through years of very public health struggles.
The investigation found that Fetterman skipped 11 of 12 full committee hearings during one stretch, a run of absences that drew scrutiny inside the Senate and in Pennsylvania political circles. The report also detailed how the senator responded once he learned other members could be marked present and then step out.
Senator Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican, explained the common practice of checking in before tending to other business. Soon after, Fetterman and his aides put the strategy to work, according to former staffers, including an advance staffer whose job was to catch the clerk's eye so Fetterman could receive credit for attending even when he drifted into the room for a minute or less. Since last June, records show Fetterman was marked present at 26 of 31 full hearings of his assigned committees, even though he did not say a word in 20 of them.
The pattern extended beyond the committee room. When an aide told Fetterman that a formal funeral for three police officers killed near his hometown of York would run at least three hours, the senator reportedly replied, "3 hours??" Told it was effectively three separate services, he said, "This may be a nonstarter." He did not attend.
Perhaps the most damaging episode in the report took place in June, when three paralyzed military veterans in wheelchairs traveled from rural Pennsylvania to Washington for a long-awaited meeting with Fetterman about legislation to improve their care. His staff greeted them with word that the senator had to cancel because he was not feeling well.
Less than an hour later, Fetterman walked into his office showing no signs of illness. He had an appointment he did not want to miss: a Fox News interview about Israel and the war in Iran. In response to the report, Fetterman told CNN that he had intended to meet with the group, saying, "Prior to the meeting I was at home throwing up."
The episode struck a nerve because of who was left waiting. Veterans advocacy groups and Pennsylvania Republicans seized on the image of wounded warriors in wheelchairs being bumped for a cable news appearance, and the story has followed Fetterman through the Labor Day weekend as Democrats across the state weighed in.
The investigation cataloged a broader pattern of Fetterman dodging the people he represents. When staff told him Children's Hospital of Philadelphia wanted to discuss Medicaid cuts, Fetterman allegedly responded, "Why do I have to keep having to meet with chop," and suggested hospital representatives "just want free trips to DC." He later called the comment a "dumb joke," apologized, and insisted his office has always advocated for the hospital.
In April 2025, a busload of constituents from a flood-prone Pennsylvania neighborhood traveled to Washington with state lawmaker Anthony Hardy Williams to discuss federal grant cuts affecting their preparedness. Fetterman was the only official who refused to meet with them, according to Williams, who said the senator walked the halls as the group called out to him without acknowledgment. "He was available. He just chose not to meet with us," Williams said.
The report also alleged that Fetterman agreed to an op-ed supporting Israel that would be built on talking points supplied by Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, and that his own staff quietly shelved the idea over concerns it could run afoul of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Staff decided not to tell him the drafted points had arrived, and Fetterman eventually dropped the matter.
Reaction from Fetterman's own party has been brutal. Pennsylvania Representative Brendan Boyle said flatly, "John Fetterman is a disgrace...Our state deserves better." Representative Chris Deluzio described the reported pattern as "laziness, disrespect, and willingness to carry water for a foreign government." Former Representative Conor Lamb went the furthest, telling Fetterman, "John, if there is a decent bone left in your body, just quit."
Fetterman pushed back in a statement to CNN on September 6, calling the report "lies, half-truths, innuendos, smears and anonymous" sourcing and insisting, "No matter how many smears or stories, I'm proud to continue to deliver for Pennsylvania." Former staffers fired back the same day, launching a public account that promises more revelations in the days ahead.
The fight is far from over. Former staffers say additional material is coming, and the questions about Fetterman's attendance and constituent service are now part of the political conversation in a state that will help decide control of Congress in November. Senate ethics questions have not yet been raised formally, but the report gives Fetterman's critics on both sides of the aisle a document to point to.
For Pennsylvania voters, the episode frames a basic question about representation: whether a senator who shows up for cameras while canceling on paralyzed veterans and home-state officials is delivering for the people who pay his salary. With his own party's members using words like "disgrace" and "quit," Fetterman enters the fall political season carrying a story that is not going away quietly.
A Wall Street Journal investigation has Pennsylvania Democrats turning on Sen. John Fetterman over skipped hearings, gamed attendance, and a canceled meeting with paralyzed veterans -- with some in his own party telling him to quit.
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