“If we start treating addiction as a public health issue, with more compassion, and without the criminal element, our society will be better off and violence and public safety will improve as a result. We'll also be taking a big step in taking down the prison-industrial complex that disproportionately harms communities of color.”

American politician, senior United States senator from Pennsylvania

John Karl Fetterman is an American politician. A Democrat, he has served as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania since 2023, after earlier holding local and statewide office in Pennsylvania. He was mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, from 2006 to 2019, and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 2019 to 2023. His public profile comes from that long run in Pennsylvania politics, moving from a small borough administration to statewide office and then to the Senate.