Sen. Fetterman praises Trump's Middle East policies

Sen. John Fetterman pushed back again on his fellow Democrats Monday by lauding President Trump for his administration’s policies in the Middle East.

Mr. Fetterman, a Democrat, joined fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, during a program hosted by FOX Nation in which they talked about key issues impacting Americans, including the Middle East.

Mr. Fetterman and Mr. McCormick agreed on their support for Israel, and the Democrat said he was the only member in his caucus who will say publicly that Mr. Trump’s policies are working in the Middle East.

“I wasn’t really allowed to disagree, politically, with the original agreement on Iran,” Mr. Fetterman said of the Obama administration’s deal with Tehran in 2015. Mr. Fetterman began serving in the Senate in 2023.

Mr. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran that the Obama administration previously agreed to and re-imposed sanctions against the Islamic Republic in 2018.

Mr. Fetterman bucked his own party and said, “I really do think, now, Trump did the right thing to break that agreement.”

Mr. Fetterman previously told The Washington Free Beacon that the Trump administration should destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities with a military strike.

Asked on Monday by Fox News about those remarks, Mr. Fetterman responded, “Iran attacked Israel, and it’s very clear they lack the capabilities … and then Israel struck back and destroyed the batteries that protect their nuclear facilities, and they also hit the nuclear lab as well, too.”

“So now, Israel understands that we have a window here to attack that.”

Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, a confidential report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Saturday. It called on Tehran to urgently change course and comply with the agency’s probe. The report comes at a time when Tehran and Washington have been meeting in the past few weeks over a potential nuclear deal.

Mr. Fetterman also commended Mr. Trump for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during his first administration.

“That’s absolutely put me really the only one left in the Democratic caucus talking on these kinds of things,” he said. “When Trump changed the embassy to Jerusalem, people thought … the region was going to burn. I mean, none of that happened. … Some good things have happened there.”

Mr. Fetterman has faced backlash from his own party and former staff in recent months, who have criticized him and questioned his work habits and mental health.

Republicans, including Mr. McCormick, Sens. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, have supported Mr. Fetterman.

“It’s time to put politics aside and stop these vicious, personal attacks against Senator Fetterman, his wife, and his health,” Mr. McCormick wrote on X. “While we have many differences, we are both committed to working together to achieve results for the people of Pennsylvania and make their lives better.”

Mr. Cotton said Mr. Fetterman was a “decent and genuine guy” and that the “radical left is smearing him with dishonest, vicious attacks because he’s pro-Israel and they only want reliable anti-Israel politicians.”

• This story is based in part on wire service reports.