March 12, 2026

Dear Senator Fetterman, 

We are writing to you as members of the Ward 39A Executive Committee in Philadelphia. In 2022, we endorsed your candidacy and canvassed our neighbors because we understood how important it was to flip the seat after Senator Toomey’s 12-year tenure. We believed in your ability to persuade voters across the state that you would defend healthcare, promote job-growth in our state, and protect against regressive policies.

During your term, you have taken stands that reflect values we try to protect in our little pocket of Philadelphia. Your opposition to the “Big Beautiful Bill", for instance, showed many of us that you want to protect SNAP benefits and Medicaid. These programs matter to the people we represent in our ward. We appreciate that your record shows that you have voted with Democrats 92% of the

time. It would be unrealistic, perhaps, to expect each Senator to vote with the party every single time, but there is one vote in particular that raises serious concerns for members of our ward.

Your recent “No” vote on March 4 for the War Powers resolution suggests to us that you are unwilling to work with your colleagues and provide a check on President Trump’s seemingly unquestionable power. While the Republican-controlled Congress continues to abdicate its Constitutional duty as a deliberative body in deference to the Trump administration’s reckless drive to mangle our values, it is crucial for elected leaders like yourself to defend the principles of our country.

A vote like yours allows this administration to create precedents that could be easily abused under future administrations. If a President does not have to persuade Congress or the American people, it means that any future leader of ourcountry could take any destructive military action they might only otherwise imagine. How does this possible future make you feel?

In a recent interview with Chris Cuomo, you used the rationale that the U.S. needed to curtail Iran’s nuclear capabilities and that the negotiations had failed. When the first strike happened, the negotiations were not yet over. Also, it matters who is on the negotiation team. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are ill-suited to international nuclear talks.

As Secretary of State, John Kerry spent roughly two years negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Trump ripped up this deal, which seven countries (including Iran) had agreed to, early in his first presidency. There is a wide gap between real estate moguls like Kushner and Witkoff and a thorough understanding of nuclear arms-related concerns. In that gap are the deaths of U.S. Servicemen and 168 Iranian civilians at a girls’ primary school. Those deaths were before you and your Senate colleagues provided more fuel for the darkest impulses of Trump and his cabinet.

In addition to the human costs of pursuing a war without clear goals, the financial costs of war continue to rise. The Pentagon estimates the first week of this illegal war cost taxpayers over $11 billion. Your vote against ending this costly war stands in stark contrast to your vote to end the government shutdown last year without an extension of healthcare subsidies our communities depend on. Taken together, your votes appear to be a concession that there is money for war but not for healthcare. We hope this is not your position.

We further hope that you will re-evaluate your position on the war in Iran. The lives and well-being of Americans, the global economy, and the future of our country are at stake. This is not a matter to brush aside. Thank you for your service to our country and for your attention to our concerns.

Sincerely,

The Democratic Committee People of Ward 39A

City of Philadelphia