(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman will skip the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, according to a recent media report.
The Free Press was the first to report that the first-term Democratic senator would stay home during the waning days of summer break to spend time with his children.
During an interview with the media outlet via Zoom, Fetterman said he’d made the decision soon after the June 27 debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump widely believed as the catalyst for the former candidate’s decision to drop out of the race.
The decision comes after months of mounting tension within the party over Fetterman’s pro-Israel rhetoric as the war in Gaza nears its 11th month. The Biden administration’s financial backing has drawn sharp rebuke from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, who decry the humanitarian crisis unfolding for Palestinian civilians amid the political chaos.
While many have advocated for a ceasefire, Fetterman himself has publicly backed Israel. He even visited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in June to discuss other strategies beyond its military campaign to dismantle Hamas, the terrorist group that brutalized more than 1,200 civilians during an early-morning attack on Oct. 7.
War protestors took to the Chicago streets on Monday demanding a ceasefire, with many waving signs critical of U.S. involvement in the war.
According to a report from Axios on Monday, incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., has not confirmed whether he will speak at the convention this week. Prominent Pennsylvania Democrats that will speak include Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis.
Shapiro, who once led the short list of running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris, has also faced criticism for his opposition to campus protests of the war and his pro-Israel comments made to the media since the Oct. 7 attack.
He has denied any rumors that link the rhetoric to Harris’s decision to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz instead.