Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., apologized Thursday on behalf of Senate Democrats who have not voted to end the government shutdown.

In an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, Fetterman lamented that federal workers still are not getting paid and that many Americans may not be able to feed their children because Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are set to expire due to the shutdown. He apologized for the situation on behalf of his party.

“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 said.

Fetterman speaks to reporter

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., ripped fellow Democratic lawmakers for being unable to get their “s— together” and vote to reopen the federal government. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty)

The shutdown is now in its fourth week, with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate still unable to agree on spending legislation to begin the new fiscal year.

The ongoing impasse is now threatening the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. If the shutdown continues, about 42 million Americans could lose access to the benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Speaking to Raju, Fetterman said that he will see the impact of the SNAP loss firsthand back home in Pennsylvania.

 

Sign shows National Gallery of Art is closed during government shutdown

A sign that reads “Closed due to federal government shutdown,” is seen outside the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

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

Fetterman offered an apology on behalf of his colleagues.

“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. And 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.”

 

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn, says he expects to see Pennsylvanians unable to feed their families if the government isn’t reopened. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Fetterman also criticized his own party for failing to reach a deal with Republicans.

“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. It’s like, that’s not controversial. Pay everybody,” he said, “And you have our workers here borrowed over a third of a billion dollars to pay their own bills.”