Senate Democrats heaped praise on their colleague John Fetterman this week amid fresh speculation he might leave the party.

The iconoclastic Pennsylvania Democrat has often seemed like a senator without a party in recent years. He has broken with his party over Israel, immigration funding and government shutdowns, while defending some of Trump’s projects, including building a grand ballroom at the White House and his revamp of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.

The breaks have led to speculation that Fetterman could be willing to make a change — either to become the Senate’s third independent or even join the GOP caucus. Last week, Politico reported Republicans had been quietly courting the freshman senator, including a potential offer of financial assistance from Trump,

But Fetterman responded with an op-ed in The Washington Post, saying he had “no plans to leave” the Democratic Party. “My values have not changed, and I have always turned to those kinds of ideals that defined being a Democrat. I remain strongly pro-choice, pro-weed, pro-LGBT, pro-SNAP, pro-labor and even pro-rib-eye over bio slop,” he wrote.

“I’d be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats,” he concluded.

His fellow Democratic senators think Fetterman’s critics should cut him some slack. They argued the Democratic Party should be more inclusive of differing opinions if they are to expand the Senate map and win a majority next year, especially in red states they are eyeing like Ohio, Alaska, Iowa and Texas.

“We should listen to him. He won in a tough state,” said Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, one of the Pennsylvania senator’s closest friends in the Senate. “We’re quibbling about somebody who speaks his mind and votes with us over 90 percent of the time. I think we should show some respect.”

Sen. Brian Schatz, the likely next Democratic whip, called Fetterman “a good human and a good Democrat” who has an independent voice.

“I think we should have a big enough and diverse enough party to not just tolerate that, but hope for it and work for it,” Schatz added.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has disagreed with Fetterman at times, in a statement to NOTUS praised the senator as a “strong advocate” for Pennsylvania and a “valued Democrat in our caucus.” He added, “We’re not going to agree on every issue every day — that’s true of any broad coalition — but Senate Dems are united.”

Fetterman does indeed vote overwhelmingly with Democrats. But some of his recent positions have antagonized members of his party.

For example, Fetterman cast the deciding vote to confirm former Sen. Markwayne Mullin as Department of Homeland Security secretary. And on Wednesday, Fetterman cast a key vote blocking a Democratic-sponsored resolution to end hostilities with Iran unless Congress formally authorizes further military action — one that three Republican senators supported. Several Pennsylvania Democrats are weighing a primary challenge to Fetterman when his term expires in 2028. They include Reps. Brendan Boyle and Chris Deluzio, as well as former Reps. Susan Wild and Conor Lamb, the latter of whom lost the 2022 Democratic Senate primary to Fetterman.

“There have been a number of votes that I’ve taken issue with where he has been the only Senate Democrat to side with President Trump or Republicans,” Boyle said this week on the show “This Week in Pennsylvania.” “It is unfortunate to me that almost every day, if not every day, our Democratic senator from this state goes on TV, most often on Fox News, never criticizes President Trump and is always criticizing Democrats.”

Fetterman could have a difficult time winning a Democratic primary. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found 73 percent of registered Republicans in Pennsylvania said they approved of his handling of the job, compared to just 22 percent of Democrats.

Fetterman has been isolated from fellow Democrats in the Senate. He doesn’t attend weekly Democratic caucus lunches. His speech and auditory processing challenges following his 2022 stroke make it difficult to socialize, as do his recent battles with depression, and he doesn’t spend much time on the Senate floor.

At a recent marathon session of votes on Republicans’ immigration enforcement bill, which stretched long into the morning hours, Fetterman was holed up in the Republican cloakroom just off the chamber floor for long stretches.

“Many members of his party have really beat him up,” Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told NOTUS. “I’ve never seen John demonstrate or say that that bothers him, but you know, he wouldn’t be human if it didn’t.”

“Knowing John, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him become an independent and say, ‘Pox on all of your houses,’” added Kennedy, who left the Democratic Party himself in 2007.

Fetterman’s critics have compared him to former Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who stymied Democrats’ agenda under former President Joe Biden. Both senators left the Democratic Party and became independents, although they continued to caucus with Senate Democrats before ultimately deciding not to run for reelection.

While on the campaign trail in 2022, Fetterman positioned himself as a progressive candidate and regularly used Manchin as a foil, criticizing him for not voting as a Democrat. He had the endorsement of many progressives, including independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Asked about Fetterman this week, Sanders declined to comment, calling it “kind of a gossipy issue.”

Other Democratic senators complimented Fetterman and urged his critics to to tone it down.

“John’s a Democrat. He believes in the values that we share together,” New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján said. “He fights for his constituents. He’s a good person.”

“Everyone should be more welcoming and respectful to all of us as colleagues,” he added.

Sen. Andy Kim, from the neighboring state of New Jersey, said he hoped to engage more with Fetterman and build a stronger relationship with him.

“I wish the atmosphere [were] more collegial, and we don’t go after each other simply on our differences. I should do better to get to know him,” he told NOTUS.