Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman has backed President Trump’s idea to send US troops to Gaza to spearhead rebuilding efforts in the shattered Palestinian enclave.
“The Palestinians have refused, or they’ve been unwilling, to deliver a government that provided security and economic development for themselves,” Fetterman, one of the most pro-Israel voices in the Democratic Party, told Jewish Insider after Trump stunned the world with his proposal during a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu Tuesday night.
“They allowed 10/7 to occur, and now Gaza has to be rebuilt. Where are the people going to live? Where are they going to go? So it’s part of a conversation with where they’re at right now,” Fetterman went on.
“I don’t know what the role is, but they’re obviously a part of it, and I fully support.”
Trump told the world’s press that he would like to see the US “take over the Gaza Strip” and relocate “all” of the roughly 2 million Palestinians currently living there to neighboring Arab nations.
When asked if he would send US troops to secure the Strip, Trump responded: “If it’s necessary, we’ll do that” — though White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted Wednesday that “the president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza.”
“We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings,” Trump told reporters. “Level it out and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”
Even some of Trump’s fellow Republicans balked at the idea, with Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) telling NBC News the proposal was “problematic at many, many levels.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) also ruled the idea out as a pipedream.
“Obviously it’s not going to happen,” he said, adding that there were “a few kinks in that slinky.”
Fetterman, 55, was a lone voice of Democratic support for the idea — the latest example of him giving the 47th president some leeway.
Just this week, Fetterman was the only Democrat who voted to confirm Attorney General Pam Bondi and one of two Democrats to vote to install new Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner.
Fetterman was also the first Democrat to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home, accepting an invitation shortly before the president was sworn into office Jan. 20.
“I’m not just a Senator for Democrats—I’m a Senator for all Pennsylvanians,” Fetterman has explained on X. ”It’s my job to find common ground and deliver results for everybody. And because nobody is my gatekeeper, I will meet with anyone to secure some wins, including President Trump.”
Fetterman has also pushed back on Trump, including by signing a resolution against the president’s pardoning of convicted Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants.
But the senator’s response to Trump’s Gaza plan drew protests to his Philadelphia office, where a crowd gathered Wednesday and yelled “shame” outside.
“I’m so incredibly disappointed. I mean what we need to do as Democrats right now is what Republicans did before — pull out all the stops and instead, we’re still trying to reach across the aisle as everything’s falling apart and going up in flames,” demonstrator Diane Payne, 75, told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Fetterman has long been a devoted Israel supporter, and last year was named a “Defender of Israel” by the Zionist Organization of America — the same award Trump was previously given.
