Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said Sunday that Democrats should back U.S. strikes on Iran if they believe Tehran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, invoking former Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 statement calling Iran the nation's "greatest adversary" as he widened his break with his party.
In an interview with John Catsimatidis on WABC, Fetterman said, "I became the only Democrat, certainly in the Senate, to support the mission of Epic Fury," and pressed fellow Democrats to support what he described as an operation that damaged Iran's nuclear program.
"When Kamala Harris ran for president ... she identified Iran as her top international concern," Fetterman said. "And now, here we have a situation where the Trump administration through Epic Fury has effectively broken the Iranian nuclear apparatus. Why can't we agree that that's a good thing for international security?"
Harris said in her 2024 "60 Minutes" interview that Iran was the United States' "greatest adversary."
Fetterman argued that any rise in oil prices would be worth it if Iran's nuclear threat were reduced.
"If the administration creates the kind of outcome that we all agree and wanted ... why can't we support that?" he said.
Fetterman also used the interview to fault Democrats over the Department of Homeland Security funding fight.
"The Coast Guard people ... and the TSA agents ... they all deserve to be paid," he said. "This shutdown has had zero impact on ICE. So, why should we punish all of these workers ... who are keeping our nation more secure?"
CBS News reported that on Feb. 13 all but one Senate Democrat, Fetterman, opposed moving forward with a DHS funding bill.
"I [was] the only Democrat to vote against that DHS shutdown," he told Catsimatidis.
The Associated Press reported that Democrats were open to funding most of DHS but sought changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection operations. Reuters noted the deadlock persisted on March 12, worsening TSA screening delays as agents went unpaid.
Fetterman cast that split as a betrayal of labor.
"Don't shut the government down. We used to be the party that refused to do these things," he said. "I thought we are the party of union workers."
"[Now] we are constantly voting to prevent them from being paid for their work," he added.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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