Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks during a campaign event in York, Pa., Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)2025-01-17T05:45:52Z HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) When Democrat John Fetterman got elected to Pennsylvanias U.S. Senate seat, many backers hoped hed challenge convention and the status quo. He did and has just not in the way many had expected.Fetterman has broken with his party on some policy matters and warmed to President-elect Donald Trump, a man he bashed on the 2024 campaign trail as a felon who is obsessed with revenge. Fetterman later became the first Senate Democrat to meet with Trump since the election. In fact, Fetterman has warmed to Trump so much that some in his party are quietly disavowing the man they supported in 2022, when the Pennsylvanian easily won a three-candidate primary and survived a stroke amid a high-pressure campaign to become the only Democrat to flip a Republican Senate seat that year.Christine Jacobs, who founded Represent PA, an organization to help elect Democratic women to Pennsylvanias legislature, said the Democrats shes talking to are both disappointed and concerned by Fettermans dalliance with Trump. Their worry, Jacobs said, is that Trump can say hes talking to Democrats like John Fetterman, but its not going to change what he does and itll end up looking like John Fettermans being used. Fettermans approach is reminding some Democrats of former Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, both of whom clashed with their party during President Joe Bidens term, became political independents and didnt run for reelection. Still, Fetterman who often mocked Manchin during his 2022 Senate run isnt the only one adjusting to the new political reality.Democrats are grappling with election losses across battleground states, including Pennsylvania, that gave Trump and his party control of the White House and Congress. Democrats are weighing how much to challenge Trump and whether to embrace some of his policies as they try to rebuild their coalition. I havent changed my core values throughout out all this, Fetterman told KDKA-AM radio in Pittsburgh on Thursday. But, he said, engaging with Republicans is one of the reasons why they elected me, they wanted me to do these things.Now Pennsylvanias senior senator, Fetterman had a difficult start to his Senate career. He was diagnosed with auditory processing disorder, a complication from the stroke, and checked himself into the hospital for depression just one month after taking office.Six weeks later, Fetterman returned to the Senate seemingly transformed joking with colleagues and shedding his suit-and-tie for the hoodies and shorts that had long been his trademark. He quickly made waves for instance, lambasting then-Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., for remaining in office while facing bribery charges. Menendez was convicted last year.After Hamas attacked Israel, Fetterman became an outspoken supporter of Israel on an issue that had firmly divided Democrats. Now, Fetterman has become the only Senate Democrat to meet with Trump, after flying to Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last weekend. Fetterman said it was only reasonable to meet with the incoming president in what Fetterman has described as a good and honest conversation that lasted for over an hour. And I can only see good things emerging from that, Fetterman told KDKA.For his part, Trump told the Washington Examiner that they had a totally fascinating meeting and that Fetterman is a commonsense person and not liberal or conservative.Some Democrats say Fetterman is a smart politician who is acknowledging political reality.Mustafa Rashed, a Philadelphia-based Democratic strategist, said Pennsylvania should be considered a Republican state after Trumps second victory there in three tries and the GOPs down-ballot trouncing of Democrats in Novembers statewide races.Hes in a red state, Rashed said. Of course hes got to go meet with him. And if you want to continue to represent a red state, of course youve got to meet with the president.Fetterman who is among 10 Senate Democrats representing states won by Trump is distinguishing himself in other ways. Hes met with several of Trumps Cabinet picks unlike his fellow Democrats and pledged to vote for some, even posing for photos with a thumbs-up, which Trump often strikes in photos with well-wishers.Fetterman is also not dismissing Trumps eyebrow-raising idea of acquiring Greenland, the massive and rare earth mineral-rich Danish territory. On Fox News, Fetterman called buying Greenland a responsible conversation and compared it to the Louisiana Purchase.He co-sponsored a GOP bill to detain unauthorized immigrants accused of certain crimes and helped get it past a procedural hurdle in the Senate. Amid brewing Democratic opposition, Fetterman remarked on Fox News that if enough Democrats couldnt join with Republicans to pass the bill then thats a reason why we lost the 2024 election. Democratic strategists note Fetterman forged his political career largely on his own, independently from the party.As a small-town mayor in Braddock, Fetterman became a minor celebrity for his looks hes 6-foot-8 and tattooed with a shaved head and his efforts to put the depressed former steel town back on the map.He endorsed insurgent Democrat Bernie Sanders in 2016s presidential primary and ran from the left against the party-backed Democrat in 2016s Senate primary. When the state Democratic Party looked to endorse a candidate in 2022s three-way primary, Fetterman shrugged it off as an inside game.Jamie Perrapato, executive director of Turn PA Blue, which helps organize and train campaign volunteers, said shes seeing a lot of outrage on the left over Fetterman engaging with Trump. But nobody should be surprised, she said.Fetterman is a wild card, Perrapato said, and if anyone thought hed fall in line with Senate Democratic leadership, they were crazy.Fettermans drift has given rise to whispers that he may change his registration.Last month, appearing on ABCs This Week, Fetterman said that hes not leaving the Democratic Party, but that meeting Trump nominees and aligning with some GOP policy views is part of representing the kind of state that we have in Pennsylvania.Still, Fetterman hasnt backed away from his bedrock issues, such as support for labor unions, abortion rights or LGBT rights. He has had close relationships with some top Pennsylvania Democrats, including former Sen. Bob Casey, and Jim Burn, a former state Democratic Party chairman, said Fetterman campaigned hard for Vice President Kamala Harris before she lost to Trump.Nobody can say John Fetterman was hedging bets for the Republicans, Burn said, because he was working his tail off for Kamala Harris all over the state.___Follow Marc Levy on X at: https://x.com/timelywriter. MARC LEVY Levy covers politics and state government in Pennsylvania for The Associated Press. He is based in Harrisburg. twitter