U.S. Sen. John Fetterman has harsh words for Gov. Josh Shapiro in his new memoir, Axios reports.
Fetterman’s Unfettered, co-written with Buzz Bissinger, was published Tuesday by Crown. The book recounts the career of Fetterman, who was elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 2022 after serving as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor for four years.
Fetterman, known for his unorthodox fashion sense and his maverick streak, which has often drawn the ire of liberals, had a difficult relationship with Shapiro, who served as Pennsylvania’s attorney general while Fetterman was lieutenant governor. In the book, Fetterman refers to an “ugliness between us—from which we have never recovered."
Fetterman and Shapiro both served on Pennsylvania's Board of Pardons, and the senator writes that the two did not see eye to eye.
“I truly believed with all my heart that nobody I ever supported for a pardon was a danger to society, and I was willing to stake my political career on it,” he writes. “Shapiro was far more cautious, and at a certain point, I began to think that what was influencing him was not mere caution but political ambition.”
Fetterman adds, “You could just tell Shapiro was on the move. As Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter once put it, ‘Everybody knows that Josh has wanted to be governor since he was in fifth grade.’”
Shapiro is widely thought to be considering a presidential run in 2028, while Fetterman is up for reelection next year and is likely to face primary opposition. In his book, Fetterman writes of Shapiro, “I sincerely wish him the best...even if we no longer speak.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
