Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has been willing to buck his party to confirm some of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, is ruling out voting for two of the president’s most controversial nominees: Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Fetterman said in a post on X Thursday night that he won’t vote to confirm Gabbard as director of national intelligence or Kennedy as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Both are now expected to be confirmed after their nominations had been seen to be in jeopardy.
“I have met with most of the cabinet nominees and have carefully watched their confirmation hearings,” Fetterman wrote. “After considering what’s at stake, I have voted against moving forward to the confirmation of Ms. Gabbard and Mr. Kennedy, and will be voting NO on their confirmations.”
Fetterman was the lone Democrat to vote to confirm Pam Bondi as Trump’s attorney general, was one of two Democrats to vote to confirm Scott Turner as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and was the sole Democrat to cast a committee vote advancing billionaire Howard Lutnick’s nomination to lead the Commerce Department.
A potential 2028 presidential candidate, Fetterman met with Donald Trump earlier this year and has sought to differentiate himself from the Democratic party brand after a bruising election.
