As budget bill fight dragged on in Senate, Fetterman said, ‘I just want to go home’
(TNS) — Amid a budget bill battle on Capitol Hill, an obviously frustrated U.S. Sen. John Fetterman told reporters that he wants “to go home” and lamented missing a family vacation.
“Oh, my god, I just want to go home,” Fetterman told reporters Monday. “I’ve missed our entire trip to the beach.”
Fetterman said the drawn-out haggling over President Donald Trump’s budget and spending bill was pointless with Republicans controlling the Senate, though he allowed that a few renegade GOP members might oppose the bill.
Republican Sen. Dave McCormick posted a YouTube video in which he says the bill would maintain 2017 tax cuts, boost border security and national defense, and “tries to begin to cut the growing deficit.”
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office determined that the bill would add $3.9 trillion to the nation’s debt.
On Medicaid, McCormick said the bill would ensure “working-aged men” are not receiving Medicaid benefits and it will keep the program for “the people it was designed for.”
THe independent Congressional Budget Office says close to 12 million people could lose health coverage by 2034.
Republicans expect a Senate vote on the bill Monday night.
“I’m going to vote no. There’s no drama,” Fetterman said. “I don’t think it’s really helpful to put people here till some ungodly hour.”
Those comments surely won’t endear him to voters already questioning his commitment to the job following a damning New York Magazine piece in May about his mental health recovery, erratic behavior and apparent lack of interest in the job.
A former Fetterman staffer told PennLive that the Democratic senator rarely wanted to do the work required for briefings. Fetterman also missed votes on Mondays and refused to schedule public events, the staffer said.
According to Govtrack.us, Fetterman missed 16% of votes over January to March this year, but that has dropped to just 2.9% for April through June.
Over his Senate career, Fetterman has missed 17.2% of roll call votes, according to Govtrack.us, compared to the Senate average of 2.9%.
