Sen. John Fetterman Apologizes for Democrats’ Failure to End Government Shutdown [WATCH]

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) issued a public apology Thursday, expressing frustration that Senate Democrats have failed to pass legislation reopening the federal government, as reported by Fox News.

The shutdown, now in its fourth week, has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay and is threatening key assistance programs across the country.

In an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, Fetterman said he was embarrassed that his own party had not acted sooner to end the standoff. “And like I said, to all of the viewers, I’m apologizing that we can’t even get our s— together and just open up our government,” Fetterman told CNN.

The Pennsylvania senator said the ongoing stalemate is hitting low-income Americans especially hard, citing the potential expiration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits if the shutdown continues.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has warned that about 42 million Americans could lose access to food assistance if Congress does not approve new spending.

“I’m saying that I’ll witness it firsthand,” Fetterman said.

“My wife, Giselle, she develops the Free Store in our community. It distributes food three times a week, and her lines have already got longer. And now, I will encounter people that have no SNAP benefits starting on Saturday, and I don’t have an explanation for them.”

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The senator said the lack of action in Washington represents “an absolute failure” by both parties but added that Democrats bear a responsibility to move the process forward.

“All I could say is I’m sorry. It’s an absolute failure — what occurred here for the last month — and now things are really going to land,” Fetterman said.

“Imagine being a parent with a couple kids and how you’re going to fill the refrigerator and pack their lunches and get on with their lives when the things that they’ve depended on now is gone because we can’t even agree to just open things up.”

Fetterman also criticized Senate Democrats for failing to reach an agreement with Republicans on a spending measure to fund the government.

“If a Democrat — you know, we’re not allowed to just open this up, I mean, then our party has bigger problems than I thought we might have already,” he said.

“It’s like, that’s not controversial. Pay everybody.”

He added that many federal workers have had to borrow money just to pay their bills, calling the situation “a failure.”

The government shutdown, which began at the start of the fiscal year, continues to affect federal agencies, contractors, and public services nationwide. Lawmakers remain divided over budget priorities, and there is still no clear timeline for reopening the government.

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