Fetterman dismisses questions as another top staffer reportedly jumps ship

Another member of Sen. John Fetterman's staff is leaving his office, and the maverick lawmaker doesn't want to talk about it.
Fetterman's office has been plagued by a string of departures since he came to Washington in 2023, and his alleged erratic behavior, concerns over his health and decision to skip certain votes have led to a wave of scrutiny in recent weeks.
Fetterman Defies 'Punitive' Punishment For Breaking With Democratic Party During Bipartisan Discussion
And now, Fetterman, D-Pa., is set to lose another top staffer. Axios first reported that Krysta Sinclair Juris, who has been the lawmaker's chief of staff since April 2024, is set to leave his office.
When pressed about the situation in his office, Fetterman didn't want to talk about it.
"Well, have you, have you spoken to the significant number of my colleagues that have much higher staff turnover?" Fetterman asked Fox News Digital.
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Fetterman Addresses Calls To Step Aside, Saying Recent Allegations Are 'Not Accurate'
He doubled down when asked again if Axios' reporting was accurate.
"I think you should talk to my colleagues that have much higher turnover," he said after ducking into an elevator.
Fetterman's office later confirmed to Fox News Digital after the publication of this report that Cabelle St. John, who has served as his scheduling director, senior advisor and deputy chief of staff, would move up to take the job opening.
"Cabelle St. John has been a trusted advisor since day 1 in the office," Fetterman said in a statement. "I'm lucky to have her taking over as my Chief of Staff, and I'm confident she'll do a great job. I'm grateful for Krysta's work. She's been an invaluable member of the team for over two years and I wish her all the best."
Schumer, Democrats Plot Coordinated Resistance To Trump's 'One Ugly Bill'
The latest departure is not the first instance where staffers have left this year. Two aides left last month after a bombshell report from New York Magazine detailed rising concerns among his staff about his health.
And in February, his deputy chief of staff and communications director hit the exits, too.
Fetterman has been no stranger to controversy since winning his seat two years ago and has made a name for himself by often bucking his party's marching orders and siding with Senate Republicans on thorny policy issues.
For example, Fetterman has often broken with Democrats on Israel and immigration, saying his party has lost the argument on both issues.
The lawmaker acknowledged his unique brand of bipartisanship during a forum alongside fellow Pennsylvania Sen. David McCormick, a Republican, moderated by Fox News' Shannon Bream on Monday.
"That's part of the bipartisanship where, you know, it's getting more and more kind of, punitive to just agree with some of these things in the middle of the party right now," he said.Original article source: Fetterman dismisses questions as another top staffer reportedly jumps ship

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27 minutes ago

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Trump Got This One Right

'Why are the wrong people doing the right thing?' Henry Kissinger is supposed to have once asked, in a moment of statesman-like perplexity. That question recurred as Donald Trump, backed by a visibly perturbed vice president and two uneasy Cabinet secretaries, announced that the United States had just bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. It is a matter of consternation for all the right people, who, as Kissinger well knew, are often enough dead wrong. The brute fact is that Trump, more than any other president, Republican or Democrat, has taken decisive action against one of the two most dangerous nuclear programs in the world (the other being North Korea's). The Iranian government has for a generation not only spewed hatred at the United States and Israel, and at the West generally, but committed and abetted terrorism throughout the Middle East and as far as Europe and Latin America. Every day, its drones deliver death to Ukrainian cities. The Iranian government is a deeply hostile regime that has brought misery to many. A nuclear-armed Iran might very well have used a nuclear weapon against Israel, which is, as one former Iranian president repeatedly declared, 'a one-bomb country.' Because Israel might well have attempted to forestall such a blow with a preemptive nuclear strike of its own, the question is more likely when an Iranian bomb would have triggered the use of nuclear weapons, not whether it would have done so. But even without that apocalyptic possibility, a nuclear-armed Iran would have its own umbrella of deterrence to continue the terror and subversion with which it has persecuted its neighbors. There is no reason to think the regime has any desire to moderate those tendencies. In his address to the nation on Saturday night, Trump was right to speak—and to speak with what sounded like unfeigned fury—about the American servicemen and servicewomen maimed and killed by Iranian IEDs in Iraq. It was no less than the truth. Shame on his predecessors for not being willing to say so publicly. When someone is killing your men and women, a commander in chief is supposed to say—and, more important, do—something about it. Trump was also right in making this a precise, limited use of force while holding more in reserve. Israel has done the heavy lifting here, but he has contributed an essential element—and no more. He was right as well (for the strikes were indeed an act of war) to threaten far worse punishment if Iran attempts to retaliate. The rush in many quarters—including right-wing isolationists and anguished progressives—to conjure up prospects of a war that will engulf the Middle East reflected their emotions rather than any analytic judgment. Iran, it cannot be said often enough, is a weak state. Its air defenses no longer exist. Its security apparatus has been thoroughly penetrated by Israeli, American, and other intelligence agencies. 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But so much of that kind of commentary is pseudo-sophistication: Almost no strategic problem gets solved permanently, unless you are Rome dealing with Carthage in the Third Punic War, destroying the city, slaughtering its inhabitants, and sowing the furrows with salt. For some period—five years, maybe 10—Iran will not have a nuclear option. Its key facilities are smashed and its key scientists dead or living in fear of their lives. Similar complaints were made about the Israeli strike on the Iraqi Osirak reactor in 1981. The Israelis expected to delay the Iraqi program by no more than a year or two—but instead, the program was deferred indefinitely. As things go, crushing the facilities at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, following a sustained Israeli campaign against similar targets, was a major achievement, and a problem deferred for five years may be deferred forever. 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Boston Globe

28 minutes ago

• Boston Globe

Trump ignites debate on presidential authority with Iran strikes and wins praise from Republicans

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Buzz Feed

33 minutes ago

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US Bombs Iran And MAGA Weighs In

Last night, President Donald Trump announced that the US military had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran in a planned attack. Trump also took to Truth Social to congratulate the US military on the strike and announced that "now is the time for peace." Well, MAGA supporters are not holding back their frustrations and voting regrets about Trump's decision to involve the US in another war in the Middle East. Here's what they're saying over on the r/LeopardsAteMyFace subreddit. Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X, stating, "This is not our fight." "I trusted you. I'm done with MAGA and all your bullshit." "I fully regret voting for this shit." "You betrayed us, your MAGA base. I voted for you THREE TIMES." "Trump needs to be impeached." "Donald Trump has completely failed us." "NO MORE WARS!!!" "I regret my vote and I couldn't apologize more for voting for this." "More than disappointed with this action." "He's betrayed the vast majority of his voter base." Latino for Trump voter: "You promised us NO War, and you just started one!!!" "If the United States enters war with Iran, as appears to be the case, I will regret my vote." "Very disappointed in President Trump." "I wish I never voted for @realDonaldTrump." And finally, "I trusted Trump to put America first... We have been betrayed." What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.