- Sen. John Fetterman has been hospitalized for clinical depression since February 15.
- The freshman lawmaker's Senate aides have banded together to keep his office afloat.
A lot has happened in the 33 days since Pennsylvania's junior senator John Fetterman last stepped foot in the Senate chamber.
His colleagues have cast nearly four dozen votes since the stroke-surviving freshman Democrat checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center seeking treatment for clinical depression.
Most of those roll calls were on procedural motions or judicial nominations. But there have also been substantive moves such as rejecting a Labor Department rule on socially conscious investing — a rebuke which prompted Joe Biden's first presidential veto — and clearing the way for repeal of a decades-old congressional authorization for use of military force against Iraq.
Older lawmakers have also dropped out of sight lately, including Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who's still recovering from a shingles outbreak, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who recently entered an inpatient rehabilitation facility after suffering a concussion and a fractured rib from a jarring fall.
While both of their offices have had decades to fine-tune their operations should the boss need to take a day, Fetterman's budding staff has had to hit the ground running without missing a step.
And they had to do this while conservatives enraged that Fetterman flipped retired GOP Sen. Pat Toomey's seat last fall called for the convalescing congressman to be removed from office.
"We are working extremely hard and as a tight team," Fetterman spokesman Joe Calvello told Insider of their baptism by fire, adding, "We all have each other's back."
The evolving crew, which features a mix of congressional aides who've helped House and Senate Democrats across the leadership spectrum and Fetterman loyalists who've followed him to Washington, DC, is also getting a hand from mentors like Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
Casey is coordinating with Fetterman staff on constituent services issues and legislative priorities, according to recent reports, but doesn't call Fetterman directly so as not to disturb his ongoing recovery.
"He's able to take the time he needs to get the help that he needs," Casey told Politico. "He'll be back soon."
—Pennsylvania Capital-Star (@PennCapitalStar) March 18, 2023
'John's bedrock values'
Along with Calvello, who worked on Fetterman's recent Senate campaign, the former lieutenant governor has surrounded himself with personnel who know their way around Capitol Hill, the Keystone State, or both.
Fetterman's growing network of like-minded staffers now include:
- Chief of staff Adam Jentleson, a former aide to late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and author of Senate filibuster treatise "Kill Switch"
- Administrative director Maya Ashwal, a former aide to Democratic Sen Chris Murphy of Connecticut, with over a decade of experience in several Senate offices
- Constituent services director Kathi Caber, a Pennsylvania native whose congressional tenure dates back to when then-House Transportation Committee chair Bud Shuster was steering federal funds toward interstate highway projects in Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district
- Special advisor Bobby Maggio, a long-time supporter who's stuck by Fetterman's side for nearly a decade after being blown away by the then-local mayor's what-you-see-is-what-you-get demeanor.
"He has such a genuine, everyday kind of attitude," Maggio told Slippery Rock University newspaper The Rocket in late 2018 about the progressive politician's appeal.
Jentleson first caught wind of Fetterman during the 2016 Senate primary. Fetterman got nearly 20% of the vote that spring, leaving front-runner Katie McGinty to face off against a reelection-seeking Toomey.
While McGinty lost by less than 2 points that year, Jentleson was struck by the buzz around Fetterman's "insurgent grassroots campaign." When the 2022 midterms rolled around, mutual acquaintances introduced the two, and Jentleson signed on as an informal advisor and debate prep partner.
"Adam, like many people, was deeply inspired by John's commitment to public service and his unflinching fight for working people," Calvello wrote in an email.
Shortly after Fetterman beat Trump-backed nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz, Jentleson and Sen. Casey's long-time chief of staff, Kristen Gentile came aboard as transition committee co-chairs and set about hiring individuals "with a deep understanding of the Senate … and of John's bedrock values."
Some of the others working hard to meet that internal standard include legislative assistant Madeleine Marr, a former aide to Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.
That's Marr's name atop the March 6 briefing memo pinned beneath Fetterman's iPad in the photo Jentleson shared from one of their regular meetings at Walter Reed.
—Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) March 6, 2023
Back in Pennsylvania, state director Joe Pierce filled the ranks with nearly 20 new hires including regional directors and constituent services staff. Those recruits have helped launch congressional offices in Philadelphia, Erie, and Harrisburg so far, with additional openings slated for Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre, Johnston, State College, and Bethlehem in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Calvello credits Caber with always putting constituents first.
"She was an expert constituent services staffer for Sen. Casey for decades before joining our state team, and has set up an amazing operation to ensure John and his office are fully serving the people of Pennsylvania," he said.
Stand together
While calling out sick or spending time on the mend is nothing new in an increasingly aged Congress, Fetterman's need to step away has irked some in theGOP.
Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, who was recently censured for misrepresenting evidence in pursuit of Trump's baseless claims of 2020 election fraud, took a swipe at Fetterman's attempts to keep up with the congressional workload from afar.
"So we're just letting people legislate from mental health wards now??" Ellis wrote on Twitter.
Conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller has been more blunt, accusing Fetterman's staff of unduly wielding power in his absence.
"John Fetterman's chief of staff is not an elected senator," Miller wrote in an op-ed run by the Delaware Valley Journal. "If Pennsylvania's elected Senator cannot perform his duties, even with an army of journalists covering up the true nature of his condition, then he must resign."
Fetterman's wife, Gisele, seems not to let any of that negativity near her or her husband of 14 years.
—Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) March 17, 2023
She wrote about being grateful for "blooming flowers" and "normalized conversations about mental health," in a March 17 Twitter post padded with sun-splashed pictures of her visiting with Fetterman.
One of the images shows a copy of the book "Understanding Depression" overflowing with yellow stickies highlighting noteworthy passages.
And she's not the only one hailing the virtues of self-care.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are welcoming the stars of award-winning Apple TV series "Ted Lasso" to the White House on Monday afternoon to highlight "the importance of addressing your mental health to promote overall well-being."
As they wait for Fetterman to work his way back to full health — something staff maintains is weeks, not months, away — they'll continue to rely on themselves and newfound allies like Democratic Sen. Pete Welch of Vermont.
"Anything I can do to help my colleague," Welch told Politico of his willingness to pitch in however possible.