Key Dem Senator Fetterman Gone for Weeks Over Clinical Depression

The Democrat Party’s majority in the Senate encountered a setback after Sen. John Fetterman, the freshman lawmaker who flipped a Pennsylvania seat held by the GOP for 50 years, had to be hospitalized for clinical depression.

He will be absent for “weeks.”

He Flipped GOP Seat, But At What Cost?

In the November midterms, Fetterman got 51% of the votes, narrowly defeating Trump-backed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s Senate race. He thus flipped the seat of former Republican Senator Pat Toomey.

Fetterman’s narrow victory was vital to the Democrats, as it helped them clinch a 51-seat majority in the new Senate.

The freshman Pennsylvania senator’s seat became even more important after long-time Democratic dissenter, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona, decided to rank herself as an “Independent,” rather than a Democrat.

Fetterman’s situation, however, has been problematic since May 2022 when he suffered a severe stroke. That happened four days before the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania, which he won anyway.

With his team accused of hiding his true condition and with Fetterman slurring his speech in public, there have been concerns that he rushed back to campaigning too quickly after his stroke.

Earlier this month, his chief of staff seemed to admit this may have taken a toll on the freshman senator’s health. During a Democratic senators’ retreat, Fetterman got hospitalized for light-headedness.

Less than a week after his two-day hospital stay, however, he checked himself into a Maryland hospital for treatment for clinical depression.

Fetterman’s hospitalization at the Walter Reed National Medical Center was announced by his office under the recommendation of the visiting physician of the United States Congress.

Fetterman’s Absence Bound to Complicate Democrats’ Situation

The 53-year-old senator is going to have inpatient hospital care for several weeks, according to a senior staffer of his, quoted by CNBC. The report was also confirmed by The Wall Street Journal.

According to one of the senator’s top aides, Fetterman’s clinical depression treatment in the hospital means his return back to work in the Senate will not occur in a matter of days.

The report pointed out that Fetterman’s absence would likely make it more difficult for the Senate – or, rather, for the tiny Democratic Party majority there – “to accomplish its goals.”

It is noted that Congress is presently tackling a bill that would raise the debt ceiling after the $31.4 trillion limit was reached last month.

The Republican majority in the House of Representatives is demanding that Democrats commit to certain spending cuts to reduce the giant budget deficits and mind-blowing national debt.

The Senate will not be in session this week, but Fetterman already missed Capitol Hill votes last Wednesday and Thursday.

The freshman senator’s condition brought about a wave of support from Democrats, but for the time being, it remains unclear how long Fetterman will be absent and just how many complications that will create for the left’s agenda.

This article appeared in The State Today and has been published here with permission.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR