1. John Karl Fetterman is an American politician serving since 2023 as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania.
131 Facts About John Fetterman
1. 2.
John Fetterman went on to join AmeriCorps and earned a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard University.
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John Fetterman ran for the US Senate in 2016, finishing third in the Democratic primary.
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John Fetterman ran for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in 2018, defeating a field of candidates that included incumbent Mike Stack in the Democratic primary and winning the election with incumbent governor Tom Wolf.
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In 2021, John Fetterman announced his candidacy in the 2022 US Senate election in Pennsylvania.
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In 2025, John Fetterman became Pennsylvania's senior senator following the defeat of Bob Casey Jr.
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John Fetterman was born at Reading Hospital in West Reading, Pennsylvania, to Karl and Susan John Fetterman, both of whom were 19 years old.
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John Fetterman grew up in an affluent suburb of York, and his parents were conservative Republicans.
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John Fetterman said he "sleepwalked" as a young adult while playing four years of football in college, intending eventually to take over ownership of his father's business.
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In 1991, John Fetterman graduated from Albright College, his father's alma mater, with a bachelor's in finance.
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John Fetterman received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Connecticut in 1993.
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For two years John Fetterman worked in Pittsburgh as a risk-management underwriter for Chubb.
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In 1995, John Fetterman joined the recently founded AmeriCorps, and was sent to teach Pittsburgh students pursuing their GEDs.
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John Fetterman later attended Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, graduating in 1999 with a Master of Public Policy degree.
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John Fetterman began his corporate career working at an insurance firm.
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John Fetterman came to Braddock in 2001 to start an Out-of-School-Youth Program, helping local youth to earn their GEDs.
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John Fetterman ran for mayor of Braddock against the incumbent, Pauline Abdullah, in 2005.
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John Fetterman won the general election; he did not face a Republican opponent.
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John Fetterman defeated Cox in the primary by a vote of 294 to 103 and was unopposed in the general election.
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John Fetterman handily won the Democratic primaries in 2013 and 2017, and was unopposed in the general elections.
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John Fetterman founded a nonprofit organization, Braddock Redux, which he used to acquire and save properties in Braddock.
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John Fetterman received payments of $54,000 from his father in 2015.
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John Fetterman later purchased an adjacent warehouse for $2,000, placed two shipping containers on the roof for extra living space, and moved in.
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John Fetterman worked to convert vacant lots into parks and gardens, build the town's first public basketball court, and establish a two-acre organic urban farm, worked by teenagers of the Braddock Youth Project.
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For example, John Fetterman helped secure a $400,000 grant from the Heinz Foundation toward the building of a green roof, which provided 100 summer construction jobs for local youth.
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John Fetterman pitched Braddock to people around the country as a place to move due to the town's low real estate prices.
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John Fetterman aimed to improve the relationship between Braddock's residents and the police by serving as a mediator during disputes.
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In 2006, John Fetterman opposed the expansion of Mon-Fayette Expressway, a partially completed four-lane highway that connects Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
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John Fetterman argued that the planned expansion of the expressway would cut straight through Braddock and destroy the town.
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In November 2010, John Fetterman was arrested and immediately released after refusing to leave the property of the US Steel Tower in Pittsburgh while protesting the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's controversial closure of Braddock Hospital.
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Also in November 2010, John Fetterman took a leading role in trying to close down Club 804, a Braddock nightclub he described as a public nuisance after a shooting occurred there.
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John Fetterman bought a 3,000-square-foot former car dealership, intending to make it the site of the new restaurant.
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Mayor Chardae Jones, John Fetterman's successor, criticized the restaurant for closing after only a few years and having received a Paycheck Protection Program loan for $190,000 in 2020.
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John Fetterman was criticized for an incident in North Braddock in January 2013 when he heard a sound he thought was gunfire and followed an unarmed jogger, whom he detained with a shotgun.
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The jogger, Chris Miyares, a Black American, said that what John Fetterman thought were gunshots were kids shooting bottle rockets.
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Miyares claimed that John Fetterman pointed the shotgun at his chest while he loaded the gun and then aimed the gun at his face.
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John Fetterman's campaign denied allegations of racism, claiming that Miyares was wearing a black sweatsuit and mask, so John Fetterman could not have identified his race or gender.
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John Fetterman added that Miyares was running in the direction of a school and that he made the decision to approach him with the firearm due to the event's proximity in time to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
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John Fetterman appeared on the Colbert Report on February 25,2009, discussing the economic difficulties his town faced due to a decreasing population, plummeting real estate values, and bankruptcy.
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John Fetterman questioned why funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 could not be used to support projects such as those in Braddock.
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On November 14,2017, John Fetterman announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, challenging, among others, incumbent lieutenant governor Mike Stack.
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John Fetterman was a part of the Democratic ticket along with incumbent governor Tom Wolf.
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On November 6,2018, Wolf and John Fetterman defeated the Republican ticket of Scott Wagner and Jeff Bartos in the general election.
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John Fetterman was sworn into office as the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania on January 15,2019, replacing Mike Stack.
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John Fetterman went on a statewide tour, visiting all 67 Pennsylvania counties, and spoke to residents about legalization.
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John Fetterman continued to defy the law by flying the flags outside his office.
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John Fetterman was often absent from presiding over the Pennsylvania State Senate, an official duty of the lieutenant governor.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that John Fetterman ran the Board of Pardons "with the heart of an activist and, at times, the force of a bully".
49.
In November 2020, John Fetterman said Donald Trump was "no different than any other random internet troll" and that he "can sue a ham sandwich" in response to Trump threatening to file lawsuits in Pennsylvania alleging voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
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John Fetterman responded by certifying that Pennsylvania had discovered three cases of voter fraud; two men had cast ballots as their dead mothers, and another had voted on behalf of his son as well as himself.
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John Fetterman said that Patrick should pay $1 million for each of these cases.
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John Fetterman's lampooning of the alleged voting fraud received nationwide publicity.
53.
On September 14,2015, John Fetterman announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate seat held by Pat Toomey in the 2016 election.
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John Fetterman's campaign was considered a long shot against two better-known candidates, Katie McGinty and Joe Sestak, the 2010 Democratic nominee for Senate.
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John Fetterman was endorsed by former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, former Pennsylvania treasurer Barbara Hafer, and the PennLive editorial board.
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John Fetterman's campaign focused on progressive values and building support through grassroots movement, drawing comparisons to Bernie Sanders.
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John Fetterman was the only statewide Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania to endorse Sanders.
58.
Katie McGinty, who spent $4,312,688 on the primary and was endorsed by Barack Obama and many US senators, finished ahead of former congressman and admiral Joe Sestak, who raised $5,064,849, with John Fetterman raising $798,981 and finishing third.
59.
In January 2021, John Fetterman announced he was launching an exploratory committee for the 2022 US Senate election in Pennsylvania.
60.
On February 4,2021, John Fetterman filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission declaring his intention to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Toomey.
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John Fetterman's health was a major issue in the campaign because he had suffered a stroke days before his primary victory.
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The Washington Post wrote that it "raised questions about whether [John Fetterman], still recovering from a serious stroke, is fit to serve in the Senate".
63.
In February 2023, John Fetterman attended his first Agriculture Committee hearing.
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John Fetterman asked questions about trade and organic farming, but stumbled slightly over his words.
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John Fetterman was hospitalized for syncope for two days beginning on February 10,2023.
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The Washington Post said that John Fetterman's "voice stumbled at times while reading from prepared notes" during the subcommittee hearing, but "he appeared in good spirits" and communicated a message about the importance of fighting hunger.
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John Fetterman was among the five Senate Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
68.
John Fetterman said his vote was motivated by the new SNAP requirements included in the deal, which raised the age of work requirements for able-bodied adults who do not live with any dependent children from under age 50 to under age 54.
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On November 5,2024, John Fetterman disrupted Jon Stewart's live election special on The Daily Show by canceling an interview 30 seconds before it was scheduled to air.
70.
John Fetterman visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago complex and worked with Republicans on the Laken Riley Act.
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John Fetterman called on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to pardon Donald Trump in his New York hush money case, which he said was politically motivated "bullshit" and compared to the Hunter Biden case.
72.
John Fetterman supported Trump's decision to pull $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University over what the Trump administration characterized as a failure to crack down on antisemitism on campus.
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When running for Senate in 2022, John Fetterman said he was not a progressive, "just a Democrat", explaining that many parts of his platform that were once considered progressive are now mainstream beliefs of the party.
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John Fetterman supports barring members of Congress and their immediate families from trading or holding stocks.
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John Fetterman is in favor of abolishing capital punishment in Pennsylvania, stating that he "wholly support[s] Governor Tom Wolf's moratorium on the death penalty".
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John Fetterman has called the death penalty "inhumane, antiquated, expensive, and [a] flawed system of punishment".
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John Fetterman has called for a balance between decarbonization efforts and creating fossil fuel industry jobs.
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John Fetterman later said that he supports permitting fracking but advocates stricter environmental regulations.
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In 2021, John Fetterman said that he supports moving towards a "de facto moratorium [on fracking] because the transition is going to be toward green and renewable energy".
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John Fetterman supports ending the filibuster in the United States Senate.
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John Fetterman has said that Democrats need to be more ruthless, like Republicans, in order to pass legislative priorities.
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John Fetterman was one of nine Senate Democrats to vote for cloture for a Republican-led stopgap funding bill to avoid a federal government shutdown in March 2025.
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John Fetterman said it was "absolutely absurd" to pander to the left wing of the Democratic Party in the face of the ground reality of the Gaza war or by shutting down the government rather than vote for the Republican funding bill.
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John Fetterman supports United States foreign aid to Israel, including Iron Dome funding.
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John Fetterman criticized congressional Democrats who voted against Iron Dome funding, calling them "fringe" and "extreme".
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John Fetterman has said he supports Israel's right to defend itself and is "passionate" in his opposition to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
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John Fetterman supported a law signed by Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf that barred Pennsylvania from entering into contracts with companies that boycott Israel.
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John Fetterman has blamed TikTok for creating "warped" perceptions of the conflict and widening divisions.
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When Biden threatened to withhold some arms supplies to Israel, John Fetterman called the threat "deeply disappointing".
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In June 2024, John Fetterman visited Israel and met with President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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John Fetterman called South Africa's genocide case against Israel "appalling" and said South Africa "ought to sit this one out".
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In January 2025, John Fetterman was the only Democratic senator to vote with all Republicans for cloture on a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court in response to its warrants against Netanyahu and Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant.
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In February 2025, John Fetterman said he would "fully support" US troops in Gaza after President Trump made his Gaza Strip proposal.
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John Fetterman called the proposal "provocative", but did not dismiss it, saying it was part of the conversation.
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In 2023, John Fetterman voted against an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have clarified that Article 5 of the NATO treaty does not obviate the need for Congress to declare war.
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John Fetterman voted for Tim Kaine's amendment, which prohibits the president of the United States from withdrawing from NATO without congressional approval.
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In January 2025, John Fetterman said he was open to Trump's proposed United States acquisition of Greenland, and later joked he wanted to be appointed "Pope of Greenland".
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John Fetterman said it was a "responsible conservation", including "buying it out" like the Louisiana Purchase.
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John Fetterman has described himself as a supporter of Medicare for All, saying that healthcare is a "fundamental human need and right".
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John Fetterman's website states that "Healthcare is a fundamental human right," and that he would "support whatever path" is necessary to expand healthcare accessibility including the expansion of Obamacare.
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John Fetterman has called himself "perhaps the most pro-immigration member of the Senate" and has criticized the House Republican majority of the 118th United States Congress for what he perceives as unwillingness to compromise on border policy.
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John Fetterman has called the issue "very personal" and important to him, connecting his views to his wife's status as a "DREAMer".
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In 2025, John Fetterman was one of 12 Senate Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.
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John Fetterman opposes lab-grown meat and has supported governors signing state bans, saying he "stands with our American ranchers and farmers".
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John Fetterman argued that if conservative South Dakota voters were willing to approve a ballot measure legalizing recreational marijuana, Pennsylvania should legalize it too.
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John Fetterman supports raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
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John Fetterman opposes defunding the police, calling the movement "absurd", but supports the Black Lives Matter movement.
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John Fetterman supports implementing a wealth tax in the United States.
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John Fetterman has said those "who have yachts" could be used as a potential benchmark.
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John Fetterman is a supporter of labor unions, saying "The union way of life is sacred".
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In January 2025, John Fetterman co-sponsored the Kids Off Social Media Act, which was introduced by Senator Brian Schatz, Chris Murphy, Ted Cruz, and Katie Britt.
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John Fetterman agreed with President Trump that tariffs could bring back manufacturing jobs but criticized Trump for focusing on Canada and Mexico rather than America's "real enemies".
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John Fetterman has said that the US should not "be considered the world's police officers".
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John Fetterman is married to Gisele Barreto John Fetterman, a Brazilian-American activist.
115.
John Fetterman invited Almeida to visit Braddock, and a year later they were married.
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John Fetterman is often seen wearing a sweatshirt and shorts and for a long time owned only one suit, which he wore when presiding over the Pennsylvania Senate, where there is a dress code.
117.
John Fetterman purchased a new suit for his swearing-in as a US senator.
118.
John Fetterman wore a hoodie and shorts during President Trump's second inauguration.
119.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that John Fetterman has a net worth between $717,000 and $1.58 million.
120.
In 2018, John Fetterman spoke publicly about his substantial weight loss.
121.
On June 4,2019, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that John Fetterman "collapsed" while presiding over the State Senate; he became wobbly and grabbed the lectern to prevent himself from falling over, and a member of the Capitol's nursing staff came to examine him.
122.
On May 13,2022, John Fetterman had an ischemic stroke and was hospitalized.
123.
John Fetterman was discharged from the hospital on May 22,2022.
124.
John Fetterman expressed regret for having ignored his health; after the 2017 diagnosis with atrial fibrillation, he did not see a doctor for five years and did not continue medications.
125.
John Fetterman's stroke left him with symptoms of an auditory processing disorder, and he uses closed captioning as an aid to read speech in real time.
126.
On February 8,2023, John Fetterman was hospitalized overnight after feeling lightheaded during a US Senate retreat earlier that day.
127.
John Fetterman's office reported that he was in "good spirits and talking with his staff and family", and that his hospitalization was unrelated to his stroke.
128.
On February 16,2023, John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed Hospital due to clinical depression.
129.
John Fetterman was found to be at fault for the crash after rear-ending another vehicle while speeding.
130.
John Fetterman made a cameo appearance in the 2022 film The Pale Blue Eye.
131.
John Fetterman worked with Bale and the film's director, Scott Cooper, in 2013, when they filmed Out of the Furnace in Braddock.