Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), who had urged constituents ahead of the vote to call Fetterman's office and ask him to oppose Mullin's nomination, compared him negatively to Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) at a town hall Thursday night.
"Well, we have this senator — we have two actually," she said to boos from the crowd. "And I have to be really honest with you, of the two I have more success in working with the one on the [Republican] side of the aisle than the one on the [Democratic] side of the aisle."
Zoom out: It wasn't just sitting members of Congress tearing into the Pennsylvania senator.
Former Rep. Conor Lamb, who was Fetterman's top Democratic primary opponent in 2022 and has remained critical of him, posted on X: "Did people think this vigilante was voting to protect their rights? Come on."
Moe Davis, an unsuccessful 2020 North Carolina congressional candidate, even apologized to former donors for sharing his donor list with the Fetterman campaign.
"I sincerely regret whatever part I had in helping to elect [John Fetterman] in 2022."
The other side: "In January, I called on the president to fire [former DHS Secretary Kristi] Noem — and he did," Fetterman said in a statement defending his vote.
"I truly approached the confirmation of my colleague and friend, Senator Mullin, with an open-mind. We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS."
Fetterman said his vote was "rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation's security."
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/20/john-fetterman-markwayne-mullin-dhs-democrats
