Pa. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick will debate in June with a Fox News moderator

Aliya Schneider, The Philadelphia Inquirer on May 22, 2025

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U.S. Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Dave McCormick, R- Pa., will debate in Boston in June, and it’ll be moderated by Fox News Sunday anchor Shannon Bream.

The debate is part of a series called The Senate Project, hosted by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, two organizations named for deceased senators known for their dealmaking during their long tenures.

The project has held five debates since it first launched in 2022 and aims to encourage dialogue between senators from opposing parties.

McCormick and Fetterman have largely different political views, but have shown a sense of allyship in recent months.

Fetterman and his wife, Gisele, were slated to appear with McCormick and his wife, Dina Powell, to promote a book about mentorship written by the McCormicks called "Who Believed in You?" But the senators first changed the event location to an undisclosed spot, and then postponed the event altogether after demonstrators said they would protest it.

McCormick recently came to Fetterman’s defense amid media reports and scrutiny about his health and behavior.

“While we have many differences, we are both committed to working together to achieve results for the people of Pennsylvania and make their lives better,” McCormick said in a post on X. “He is authentic, decent, principled, and a fighter. These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect.”

The Pennsylvania senators’ debate will take place on Monday, June 2, at 9 a.m. at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston in front of a live audience and stream live on Fox Nation.

“Vigorous and open dialogue is an essential part of our democracy, and having these two senators from opposite sides of the aisle discuss important issues of the day is a valuable contribution to the public discourse,” said Bruce A. Percelay, chair of the Kennedy Institute.

The first debate for the series in 2022 featured Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, a progressive independent who represents Vermont and caucuses with Democrats.

In 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was a Republican senator who represented Florida at the time, and U.S. Rep. Chris Coons, a Democrat who represents Delaware, also debated as part of the series.

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