Current and former staffers to Democratic Senator Jon Fetterman raised concerns about his health in an article published by New York Magazine‘s Intelligencer on Friday, with Adam Jentleson, his former chief of staff, telling a Walter Reed medical director last year that he worried the senator “is on a bad trajectory.”
In the article, Fetterman called the various concerns and allegations raised by staffers “past and present” as “disgruntled employees saying things that are either untrue or, so, that’s kind of the business that we are in.”
Newsweek reached out to Fetterman and Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office via email on Friday morning for comment.
Why It Matters
Fetterman’s health has been a focal point since he suffered a stroke just days before winning the primary for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat in the 2022 midterm elections. The former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor went on to defeat Republican Mehmet Oz in a key Senate victory for Democrats despite the concerns about his health.
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What To Know
Fetterman entered Washington, D.C., with a splash, causing a stir for his casual attire leading to the U.S. Senate passing an act requiring a dress code when speaking on the chamber floor.
The Democratic senator also has become a polarizing figure within his own party for his willingness to engage with President Donald Trump shortly after the 2024 presidential election and for his staunch support of Israel following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on the country.
Some more controversial stances even led to rumors that he had planned to switch parties—which he debunked in January by saying, “I am not going to become a Republican.”
He added that he “can’t keep chasing down every last thing that’s online because they just happen not to be true.”
The Intelligencer article begins with the revelation that Jentleson, described as “a longtime Washington operator,” wrote a lengthy letter to David Williamson, who leads the traumatic brain injury and neuropsychiatry unit at Walter Reed and had overseen Fetterman’s care at the hospital after he was admitted for clinical depression.
Fetterman took to the campaign trail following his stroke and talked openly about his recovery.
The main concern, though, raised by Jentleson and repeated in concerns from other staffers, was whether Fetterman was following his recovery plan, with the former staff members saying that the senator appeared to start off committed to the plan after the stroke, but ultimately was not following up properly.
Fetterman reportedly failed to attend regular blood draws, which was a “crucial component” of his recovery plan. According to the article, the senator’s wife, Gisele Fetterman, at one point refused to meet with him until he went to get blood work done, which he did—some months after his previous appointment.
Jentleson told the Intelligencer that Fetterman “could get back in treatment at any time, and for a long time I held out hope that he would. But it’s just been too long now, and things keep getting worse.”
He ended up departing Fetterman’s team in March 2024.
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The combination of Fetterman’s failure to maintain his post-stroke treatment and his depression led to periodic episodes of either inward-facing seclusion or outbursts, according to the staffers. Some told Intelligencer that they believed some of his more controversial opinions could be the result of his mental health, even as the senator claimed he was the “best version” of himself during an interview in April.
The piece details a struggle between Fetterman and his staffers over his use of social media, at one point saying that the senator handed over control of his passwords to X, formerly Twitter, and other platforms to staffers so they could prevent him from “doomscrolling.” Ultimately, he managed to find ways around it, they said.
Fetterman would “shut down” and spiral after daily sessions scrolling through social media and feeding into his depression in an act that Rebecca Katz, longtime consultant and confidant to Fetterman, described as “self sabotage” in a text message, the Intelligencer reported.
Fetterman was experiencing episodes of delusion, which led to him to admit himself to Walter Reed for clinical depression in February 2023, according to the Intelligencer report. The senator came into the hospital burdened by thoughts of self-harm and an indifference about living or dying, according to a public discharge briefing from Williamson.
The senator was then taken off his antidepressants and put on a new medication plan to improve his mood and habits over the following weeks, with Fetterman reportedly eating and sleeping better.
The circumstances around Fetterman’s high-speed crash in Maryland in June 2024, in which police said he drove over 70 mph and crashed into a Chevy Impala on the highway, was also mentioned in the article. Staffers around that time raised concerns over his habits as a driver—texting, reading articles, making video calls, all while driving—but Jentleson tried to tie this to the wider issues of Fetterman’s health issues.
“He engages in risky behavior,” Jentleson wrote in the letter, which was sent a month before the crash. “He drives recklessly: he FaceTimes, texts and reads entire news articles while driving — and I don’t mean while stopped at a light or something, he reads and FaceTimes while driving at high speeds.”
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Fetterman’s decision to vote against U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth caused him no end of consternation, leading to “a full-blown meltdown” in which he locked himself in his office and fought with his wife and staff members, according to a staffer. The Intelligencer reported that the senator told them that “they” were trying to “cancel him again,” with staff unable to understand who “they” were.
He reportedly saw friends infrequently, mainly interacting with Senators Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, and Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican.
Fetterman also took an unannounced trip to Connecticut in March, missing his child’s birthday and leaving his staff and wife at a loss for explanation. Fetterman defended the trip to the Intelligencer, saying it was a “visit to the grave site of a friend from grad school who died in 1993,” insisting that his staff and family knew about the trip.
When asked by the outlet about the allegations that he wasn’t taking his medication and was not sticking to his medical plan, Fetterman denied it, saying that no one referenced “would be privy to my medical history” and “there’s a lot of people who just hide behind unnamed sources in articles.”
What People Are Saying
Former Democratic and independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona posted to X on Friday: “Despicable hit piece on @JohnFetterman- I wish I was surprised anyone would publish an obvious vendetta re: a man’s medical journey. What a weird medical stalker. To the former staffer: My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job, sir.”
Progressive commentator and journalist Mehdi Hasan wrote on X on Friday: “This email, a year ago, from Fetterman’s former chief of staff, and this entire piece from Ben Terris, makes clear that Fetterman should not be serving in the Senate. Every Senate Democrat should read this and be asked about it – especially Schumer.”
Richard Hanania, president of the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology (CSPI), wrote on X: “Fetterman’s former chief of staff is worried about his mental health. The signs he sees include megalomania (saying he knows the most about Gaza), telling absurd lies, social media addiction, and he doesn’t read anything on policy. This is literally [President Donald] Trump and Elon [Musk]! It’s amazing how normal behavior among the two main conservative leaders is considered to require medical intervention anywhere else.”
MSNBC contributor Rotimi Adeoye wrote on X: “The Fetterman story is troubling—not just because of chaotic staff allegations, but because someone clearly still struggling with their mental health shouldn’t be in such a high-stakes role. The only solution is political: Fetterman should resign. PA Dems need a robust primary.”
Democratic pollster Matt McDermott wrote on X: “This is a really difficult story to read, but it leaves no doubt that John Fetterman is suffering severely and should step down from the Senate to focus on his health.”
What Happens Next?
Fetterman and Democrats have yet to comment on the article.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
Update 5/2/25, 10:41 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include Sinema’s post on X.
