John Fetterman is that great rarity in politics – someone willing to be honest, even when it hurts his party.

We here at Victory Girls have covered Fetterman since his primary and election to the Senate, and watched him turn into the biggest political surprise in decades. The senator’s steadfast support of Israel has marked him within his own party, as has his refusal to vote for government shutdowns and his dogged defense of national security. Now, John Fetterman is still a Democrat, caucuses with the Democrats, and votes a majority of the time with the Democrats. However, his willingness to break with party when his principles are at stake makes him a shocking rarity within the Democrat rank-and-file.

As just one example, Fetterman was the only Democrat to advance Senator Markwayne Mullin out of the Homeland Security Committee today during his confirmation process to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

ALERT: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) votes YES on Markwayne Mullin nomination to be Homeland Security Secretary

Fetterman helps Mullin salvage an 8-7 vote of support from the Senate Homeland Security Cmte pic.twitter.com/Gt6dgo6u0D

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) March 19, 2026

He had signaled his intent to vote for Mullin a week ago.

Fetterman also has pushed Democratic colleagues “to give someone a chance” and think about supporting Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) in his nomination for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary.

Last Thursday, the Pennsylvania Democrat reaffirmed that he would vote in favor of confirming Mullin.

“I will vote for him, of course, but I’m unsure how many Democrats could for him,” Fetterman told hosts John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby on WABC 770 AM. “I don’t know why. You know, I believe that he and I share a lot about — hey, let’s secure our border. Absolutely. Just focus on rounding up and deporting criminals, and we don’t ever, ever, want the kind of tragedies that happened in Minneapolis.”

“So why can’t you just give someone a chance?” Fetterman asked.

And Fetterman is honest enough to admit that President Trump lives rent-free in the heads of Democrats.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said during an appearance on the “All-In Podcast” that the Democratic Party does not have a leader, but then opined that “TDS” controls the party.

“TDS” is an abbreviation for Trump Derangement Syndrome, a term often used by Trump supporters to describe strong opposition to the former president.

“Who do you think leads the Democratic Party today?” David Friedberg asked the lawmaker during the podcast.

Fetterman said, “we don’t have one,” but added that he believes “TDS” is “the leader right now,” saying “our party is governed by the TDS.”

Later during the podcast, Fetterman brought the issue up again, saying, “You asked me earlier, what’s the leader of the Democratic Party right now. I would say it’s TDS.”

The senator suggested that Trump “could come out for ice cream and lazy Sundays and now, suddenly, Democrats would hate it. We would wanna vote it down.”

John Fetterman is completely correct. You only need to look as far as the most recent State of the Union address to know exactly how Democrats feel about anything Donald Trump supports. Those who attended couldn’t even stand to applaud Medal of Honor recipients, and got called out on camera for their antics by the president himself. One of the only Democrats who did stand up? John Fetterman.

The answer that “TDS governs the Democrats” is bitingly accurate, because each so-called “leader” in the Democrat party is trying to run for president. Joe Biden should be the de facto leader of the party at the moment, as the last elected Democrat president, but the circumstances of his leaving the race, and the overwhelming evidence that his administration was run by committee, along with his bitterness each time he opens his mouth, makes him a complete non-entity within his own party. Trust me, Democrats running for the presidency in 2028 will not be lining up in Rehoboth Beach to get old Joe’s blessing. Bill and Hillary Clinton are now on the political shelf, and Barack Obama is too busy with his personal Tower of Babel being built in Chicago. Obama will raise money for Democrats, and be a big enough draw to put donors in seats, but if his history tells us anything, he will never stick his neck out to endorse a primary candidate. This leaves the Democrats rudderless, anchored only in their fury against Donald Trump.

And each Democrat with their eyes on the White House is running against Donald Trump, at least in their own heads. What happens when they no longer have Donald Trump as their personal foil and boogeyman? We all know that the last Republican nominee is always the worst Republican EVER. But their vitriol against Donald Trump is now a decades-long crusade, one well embedded in the minds of voters. How are they going to explain their sudden pivot to lauding how Trump did things just because they wish to trash the next Republican nominee? There’s over ten years worth of social media posts and video clips to use against Democrats, and their current TDS has blinded them to what the future will look like.

Fetterman, due to his principles, has avoided that trap, and as a result, they will likely attempt to primary him. His honesty about what afflicts the Democrat Party will not endear him to his colleagues. However, it may endear him to his constituents. Don’t be surprised if the people of Pennsylvania decide to re-elect John Fetterman just so he can continue to be a thorn in the side of Democrats, if he chooses to run again.

Featured image: Senator John Fetterman, official Senate portrait, cropped, public domain