Pennsylvania’s current delegation to the U.S. Senate told us it would be a bipartisan one very early on, and so far our senators have acted on that promise. In some cases to the ire of their colleagues and those who elected them.

In March, Sen. John Fetterman was one of 10 Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who crossed party lines and backed a GOP crafted stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. He made it clear he did not support the provisions in the measure, saying he felt the alternative of government shutdown would “plunge the country into chaos” and “risk a recession.”

Fetterman also cosponsored the Republican crafted Laken Riley Act, which requires federal officials to arrest illegal immigrants who commit theft, burglary, larceny and shoplifting offenses.

He faced blowback in both cases from voters who expected a progressive firebrand in Fetterman, not a centrist approach.

Sen. Dave McCormick, for his part, recently introduced the Housing Affordability Act along Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, of Arizona, which would allow for greater interaction between government agencies in an effort to improve the availability of affordable housing.

Still more telling, McCormick has led the charge among Republican senators defending Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May of 2022, following reports of clashes with colleagues, staff, and, most recently, with members of a teachers’ union during a meeting.

The incidents have led to widespread questioning of his mental health and fitness for office. McCormick, however, immediately came to his fellow Pennsylvanian’s defense calling for an end to “vicious, personal attacks” on Fetterman. Other Republican senators have followed his lead.

Last week, Fetterman and McCormick participated in a televised debate as part of “The Senate Project,” a debate series aimed at promoting bipartisanship. By all accounts, the conversation was friendly and the two had many points of agreement on the issues.

Will Fetterman and McCormick agree on every issues? Of course not. Nor should they. But a time when most bipartisanship is done behind closed doors and simply being seen working across the aisle can lead to questions about ideological loyalty and risk a primary challenge, our senators willingness to work together and view each other as colleagues and not enemies is laudable.

— JP