- US Senator John Fetterman is currently at Walter Reed hospital receiving treatment for depression.
- In a statement, his office said Fetterman checked himself in on Wednesday night.
US Senator John Fetterman checked himself into a hospital last night and is currently being treated there for clinical depression, the Pennsylvania Democrat's office said Thursday.
Fetterman, elected last fall, is recovering from a May 2022 stroke that has impaired his ability to process speech.
In a statement, Adam Jentleson, Fetterman's chief of staff, said the senator has experienced depression "off and on throughout his life," but that it "became severe in recent weeks."
Fetterman is currently being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Jentleson said he is "receiving treatment on a voluntary basis."
"After examining John, the doctors at Walter Reed told us that John is getting the care he needs, and will soon be back to himself," Jentleson said.
Gisele Barreto Fetterman, the senator's wife, released a statement on Twitter.
"After what he's been through in the past year, there's probably no one who wanted to talk about his own health less than John," she wrote. "I'm so proud of him for asking for help and getting the care he needs."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wished Fetterman a speedy recovery and commended him for practicing self-care.
—Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 16, 2023
"Happy to hear @SenFettermanPA is getting the help he needs and deserves. Millions of Americans, like John, struggle with depression each day," Schumer wrote online.
Fetterman's new normal
This latest health emergency comes less than a week after the 53-year-old former lieutenant governor spent several days under observation at The George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC, after feeling "lightheaded" during a Senate Democratic retreat.
Fetterman was admitted to GWU on February 8 and remained there until February 10, during which hospital staff performed a battery of tests and determined he had not had another stroke.
"John is looking forward to spending some time with his family and returning to the Senate on Monday," his staff said in an official statement laying out his intention to get back to work.
The New York Times ran a story that same day in which Jentleson alluded to the constant stress his boss has been under since being blindsided by a stroke last spring.
"What you're supposed to do to recover from this is do as little as possible," Jentleson told the Times, adding that the prospect of him flipping a formerly Republican seat and becoming the 51st Democratic vote in the Senate "forced to do as much as possible — he had to get back to the campaign trail. It's hard to claw that back."
Insider chronicled Fetterman's first month on Capitol Hill, a crash-course in congressional relations that included getting to know new colleagues, being seated on five Senate committees — including asking his first round of questions about the 2023 Farm Bill — cosponsoring legislation, and casting his first vote on the Senate floor.
That workload, coupled with providing constituent services, keeps most senators busy for hours on end. Factor in his roughly 4-hour commute from Braddock, Pennsylvania to DC whenever the Senate is in session, and the daily grind really starts to take its toll.
—Gisele Barreto Fetterman (@giselefetterman) January 26, 2023
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.