What’s New
Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said on Sunday during an interview appearance on ABC News’ This Week that Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump‘s pick to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), told him during a recent meeting that he wouldn’t use the position to go after Trump’s enemies.
Newsweek has emailed the Trump presidential transition team for comment.
Why It Matters
Patel has been open about his desire to go after “government gangsters” in the “Deep State” who have criticized Trump. He has also vowed to prosecute “to the fullest extent of the law” anyone who “in any way abused their authority for political ends.”
Trump has threatened to imprison his political detractors and said on the campaign trail that former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, vice chair of the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, should have a gun trained on her face, in reference to her “hawkish” politics. The former congresswoman is a staunch critic of the president-elect and campaigned with Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s election cycle.
What To Know
Fetterman says he plans to meet with and interview each of Trump’s appointees. He told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that he will be a “yes” vote for some and a “no” for others when Senate confirmation hearings begin next month.
He said in his interview with Patel that Trump’s pick to run the FBI was “forceful” in his denial that he would seek to prosecute the president-elect’s perceived enemies.
“All of these interviews were off the record, so I’m not going to go into detail, but he [Patel] absolutely said, ‘That’s never going to happen,’ and he was very forceful with that. I found out his family’s origin story and immigration…I learned things about him. I never knew he was a public defender.”
The “Trump War Room” X, formerly Twitter, account posted a clip from Fetterman’s interview that included some of his remarks.
Now that he is about to become president for the second time, Trump’s attacks on his opponents have not ceased.
Trump has talked about pardoning January 6 rioters who are in federal custody while advocating for members of the January 6 committee who investigated his involvement in the riot to be arrested.
On Sunday, Karl asked Fetterman if he “believed” Patel when he said he wouldn’t use the position to go after Trump’s enemies.
“That’s what he claims,” Fetterman responded.
Fetterman also said in the interview that he knows a lot of Democrats in Pennsylvania who voted for Trump and disputed the notion that Trump and his supporters are fascists.
“A lot of Democrats, especially in my state that I know, and I happen to love people that [voted] for Trump, and they are not fascists. I think people are going to decide who is the candidate that’s going to protect and project my version of the American way of life. And that’s what happened.”
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What People Are Saying
Fetterman also told Karl his fellow Democrats need to “chill out” ahead of Trump’s second presidency: “The constant freak out, it’s not helpful. So, pack a lunch, pace yourself, because he hasn’t even taken office yet.”
Progressive commentator and journalist Mehdi Hasan wrote on X after Fetterman’s televised interview: “Fetterman continues his pretty shameless and now pretty predictable (Krysten) Sinema-esque journey.”
What’s Next
Senate oversight committees can hold confirmation hearings before Trump’s Inauguration Day on January 20, allowing them to refer nominees to the full Senate for quick votes once the new president takes the oath of office. However, the process could take much longer.
