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Sen. John Fetterman was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday night to get treatment for depression.
The senator’s chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, released a brief statement on Thursday, saying Congress’s attending physician, Brian Monahan, had evaluated the senator on Monday and recommended inpatient care for clinical depression. Fetterman agreed and voluntarily checked himself in, two days later, according to the statement.
The senator has experienced depression on and off throughout his life, but it became severe in recent weeks, according to the statement. The senator's chief of staff says Fetterman is getting the care he needs and is expected to be "back to himself" soon.
This is Fetterman's second hospital stay in as many weeks. Last week, Fetterman was hospitalized overnight for what his office said was “light-headedness” and was discharged when tests for stroke and seizure came back negative.
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Fetterman, elected in November, suffered a stroke on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary and has experienced communication deficits ever since. He has trouble processing language and uses a teleprompter for interviews, but he has been voting and participating in the U.S. Senate since January.
“Millions of Americans struggle with their mental health,” Fetterman’s Pennsylvania colleague Sen. Bob Casey wrote in a tweet. “I am proud of him for getting the help he needs and for publicly acknowledging his challenges to break down the stigma for others.”
The statement gave no indication of what might have triggered this episode, and Fetterman’s office has not responded to questions from KYW Newsradio.