(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has encountered significant challenges in retaining staff, with his past three communications aides exiting his office.
Coinciding with their departures is Fetterman’s apparent willingness to address what he perceives as missteps by his own party concerning Israel.
As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer on Friday, among those who recently left Fetterman’s office are Nick Gavio, a former deputy communications director; Joe Calvello, a former communications director; and Emma Mustion, a press aide.
In recent months, Fetterman has diverged from his party’s stance on Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the context of efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas terrorists since Oct. 7, 2023.
On March 24, Fetterman seemed to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris’s suggestion that Israel might face “consequences” in the event of a potential invasion of Rafah, situated at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip.
Critics argue that a potential military offensive in the southern region of the Gaza Strip could result in significant civilian casualties. Israel’s military actions began on the north, forcing Palestinians to flee south.
In response, Fetterman took to Twitter to express his disagreement with Harris’s statements.
“Israel has the right to prosecute Hamas to surrender or to be eliminated,” he wrote. “Hamas owns every innocent death for their cowardice hiding behind Palestinian lives.”
According to the Inquirer, Fetterman’s former staffers have found positions in left-wing organizations and entities.
Gavio has joined the left-leaning political party, Working Families Party. Calvello now serves under the Brandon Johnson, the left-wing mayor of Chicago. Mustion has moved to the re-election campaign of Sen. Bob Casey, Fetterman’s fellow senator from Pennsylvania.
While Fetterman campaigned as a progressive in 2022, he has since asserted that he has adopted a more centrist stance on certain issues, including illegal immigration
“I would just call myself a Democrat,” Fetterman claimed in remarks to CNN. “And I believe that I’m on the right side of issues, whether that’s being very pro-choice, maybe that I believe that is being pro-union, and if I believe that’s pro-Israel as well, too.”
Jake Tapper: “So even though you did run for lieutenant governor and senator as a progressive, you are now rejecting that label. What would you call yourself?”
John Fetterman: “I would just call myself a Democrat, and I believe I’m on the right side of issues.” pic.twitter.com/EfcbIpyp9D
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) December 19, 2023
