'It's just about a conversation': Democratic senator says he'll meet with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said Thursday he's planning to travel to Mar-a-Lago to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, whose nominees and agenda the Pennsylvania lawmaker has signaled he's sometimes willing to support.
"I'm angling to be named the pope of Greenland," Fetterman told reporters on Capitol Hill after confirming the meeting, as he made a joke about Trump's desire to acquire the territory.
"I don't have a specific message. I don't know what his is. It's just about a conversation," he added.
The timing of meeting was not clear. Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If the meeting takes place, Fetterman would be the first Democratic senator to meet with Trump at his Florida estate since the November election.
Fetterman has had an independent streak in the Senate, emerging as an unequivocally pro-Israel voice amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. This week he became the first Democratic senator to co-sponsor the Laken Riley Act, which the Senate advanced on a bipartisan basis Thursday afternoon. That bill would require the federal government to detain undocumented immigrants who are charged with or convicted of burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.
Mar-a-Lago has become a frequent meeting point for Republicans seeking an audience with the president-elect ahead of his inauguration. This weekend, several groups of House Republicans will visit the estate as they plan how to tackle Trump's legislative agenda.
Fetterman's home state of Pennsylvania voted for Trump by 1.7 percentage points in the last election after going for President Joe Biden in 2020. He urged his Democratic colleagues to support the Laken Riley Act, citing its appeal to voters in swing states like his, but declined to encourage them to follow his lead in visiting Trump.
Fetterman's attitude is also seen as a reflection of some Democrats' new approach to Trump in his second term. Several Democratic lawmakers have said the party's aggressive messaging on Trump as an agent of chaos has not been resonating with voters, and they're willing to work with the incoming administration to find common ground.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Fetterman says he'll meet with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago