Three of freshman Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-PA) top communications staffers have recently resigned as the Pennsylvania senator continues to break with his party’s hard Left over hot-button issues.
According to reporting from the Philadelphia Inquirer, deputy communications director Nick Gavio’s last day in the office is Friday. His departure follows the resignations of Fetterman’s former communications director Joe Calvello and press aide Emma Mustion earlier this month.
Calvello now works for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, while Gavio is jumping over to join the Working Families Party, both far more progressive workplaces. Mustion left Fetterman’s office to work on the reelection campaign of the other Pennsylvania senator, Bob Casey (D-PA).
Fetterman has faced growing criticism over his staunch support for Israel and calls for Democrats to engage in tougher immigration laws, putting him at odds with members of his party. During his 2022 campaign, the Pennsylvania senator campaigned as a progressive outsider. He was endorsed by progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and had previously supported Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) 2016 presidential run.
However, during a December interview with NBC News, the first-term senator proudly declared he was not a progressive.
“I just think I’m a Democrat that is very committed to choice and other things. But with Israel, I’m going to be on the right side of that. And immigration is something near and dear to me, and I think we do have to effectively address it as well,” he said during the interview.
Fetterman’s former staff members have not said publicly why they are leaving the senator’s office, but their new employment choices suggest a deep contrast with the freshman senator. The two had previously worked on Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign.
While Gavio said he was “deeply honored” to have worked with Fetterman, he’s now working for the Working Families Party, a left-wing minor political party. When Calvello’s new employment opportunity was announced in early March, he praised Chicago’s Johnson as a “true progressive.”
“Mayor Johnson is a true progressive who is committed to fighting for the working people and families of the City of Chicago, and I am deeply honored to join his administration,” Calvello said in a statement.
However, former and current staff members have been outspoken about Fetterman’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza. In October, 16 former campaign staffers anonymously signed a letter calling on the Pennsylvania senator to change his stance on the war and call for a ceasefire.
“Watching the United States military apparatus beat the drum for war — promising the Israeli government unconditional weapons support, a blank check for more destruction that will lead to the killing of more innocent Israelis and Palestinians including children — has been heart wrenching,” the staffers, who called themselves “Fetterman Alumni for Peace,” wrote in the letter. “Watching you lead that charge has felt like a gutting betrayal.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Fetterman’s office, but it did not respond to a request for comment.